Kaleidoscope
by Solitary Shadow
Summary: Twist on KH. Guntz kills Janga as he's supposed to. By doing so he throws his whole world off balance, and falls deeper into his own destruction, finding about horrifying secrets about his companions, his world and himself... First Part complete.
1. Part One Prologue: Loss of Innocence

**Disclaimer:** Klonoa and related characters are copyright to Namco Bandai Games. They probably won't appear in Brawl. We can hope, but meanwhile, SS will just produce weird fanfics.

**Author's Note:** Long story I'm starting. I've planned the whole thing out. It's slash, no fluff, and it may well be taken down before I finish it. I'm so indecisive in those matters. It's dark. Meh. But it doesn't have endless chords of Requiem, or cutting. I assure you that.

This is the Prologue. It might not make sense. It _will_ not make sense. But all in good time. Next chapter will be up shortly.

* * *

_There is something wrong with that child._

_I'm putting it down on words... ah, what is becoming of me? I'm not _proud_ of writing this down. I cannot ever be proud. It feels as if this diary now holds a great sin, as if I'm committing blasphemy against the Goddess Claire for daring to write such words about my child. But I'm conscious of it, perhaps really conscious of it for the first time. Those words make it seem real._

_Of course, no true parents should be relying on child-raising books to raise their child properly. Those books hold only opinions of a so-called specialist, but nothing more than that. A child is not a doll one can play with and then throw away whenever bored. Parents who stop loving their only children because they simply _don't_ match their expectations anymore do not deserve to experience the true joys of parenthood._

_However, that's not what I want to talk about here. What can I say... oh, despite what I wrote earlier, I am finding this harder to say this in words. This is not what I've intended. At all._

_I never demanded anything from my darling child, other than the average._

_I believe that as long as they do not do poorly, there is very little reason for them to be outstanding either. They will have the proper senses benefiting their ages, and that would normally suffice for them. They'll be good enough. My dear child, my boy is the same._

_But that child changed as soon as he turned five years old._

_I found him five months ago in the shed, sitting on the wooden bench and kicking his legs, and beside him there lay a full WA 2000 rifle, completely assembled. He held the bullets in his hand, tipping them out of the barrel, and tossed them niftly into a box in the corner. As I watched, stunned, he took the rifle in his hands and began to disassemble it into tiny pieces. His handwork was extremely nimble; he looked a sight, a five year old sitting on a wooden bench taking a rifle bigger than himself apart into pieces. He never noticed I was there. When he was done disassembling, he giggled at his own handiwork for a moment and immediately began putting the whole rifle together again. The entire operation took less than five minutes._

_I thought that my husband had taught him; he is the gunslinger after all. But he merely looked confused when I told him that. Upon questioning, my child merely looked bored and offered no answers. I know for sure that my husband did not teach him; did my boy know purely by observation? Before long he was using his father's rifle-scope to look at the stars, staying outside for hours at a time. This is not normal behaviour. It's not natural. Little children cannot _know_ those things; they're too young. _

_And he never laughs._

_He giggles sometimes, when he does things by himself, but other than that he remains emotionless. When we go out at the weekend, only he will not express joy. When we have our meal, only he will not take the turn to say the blessing to the Goddess Claire. But the odd thing is that once all those privileges are taken away from him, he will visibly miss it all, although he apparently doesn't care less about his opportunities and possessions._

_...Ah, but even if that was all, this is still beyond my understanding._

_But what I really don't get is... sometimes, even when something that's exactly the same as the things I wrote above happens again, this time around, he would show the kind of interest and happiness that fits his age perfectly._

_I am his mother. But I have so little idea of what his standards are._

_So what does this all amount to? _

_Why isn't he interested in his meal, but glad for the meal itself?_

_Why isn't he interested in his book, but glad for the book itself?_

_The former and latter appear exactly the same in my eyes, and the former appears better to me sometimes._

_I cannot understand my child's senses._

_My husband is closest to our child, of course, being his father, but he does not understand the boy either. We talk every night, when he has gone to bed, and at those he reveals those thoughts as well. Our child is definitely more relaxed in his father's presence, but similar things happen with him as well. He brings the issue up, and I reply that I cannot understand that child, even as his mother. And then we lapse into silence, our heads together, wondering what we should do and coming up with no answers. Every night._

_There was one day when I was in a very good mood. Wanting to please that child, I made the dishes that he liked. He came down with a sweet smile and a giggle, but there was no sparkle in his eyes. He ate well, but he didn't look like he was truly enjoying it. By the end of the day I was disappointed, and when he forgot to put his dishes away I shouted at him. And instantly, his smile disappeared, replaced with that bored, emotionless look he has often._

_There was another day, when the weather was stormy. The laundry basket, which was standing outside, tipped over with because of a strong gust of wind. My boy stood by me, watching me picking up the laundry in a panic, and began laughing loudly. I yelled at him to be quiet, but he didn't stop laughing, and I shouted at him again. His smile disappeared again, and he gave me one contemptous look, walking away calmly._

_...I regret those incidents now. Those things happened many times before. And now he only looks at me with a blank expression every time._

_I repented to the Goddess Claire for being a bad mother. How I regret those things! I would do anything to turn the clock back. But I cannot do such things, and we must move on. I must try to regain my child's trust through small things and actions._

_But his uncanny abilities frighten me. He can walk without making a sound. He sees the strangest things with his father's rifle-scope. He can assemble rifles and guns he has never seen before and has never handled before. My husband can buy a new gun, put it on a desk, and within minutes the child hops over and takes out the bullets swiftly. And he doesn't notice that we're watching. He can take everything apart and assemble it again. My husband says that our child has the spirit of the gunslinger inside him and that we shouldn't worry. But I highly doubt he himself could do that when he was five. _

_The villagers adore him. He has a soft, innocent face, with long eyelashes and long hair for a boy. One could easily mistake him for a girl. He predicts the most unusual things, and the villagers think that he's special. Something wonderful and unique. There was a rumour that the family, from my husband's side, had inherited the spirit of a Shinigami, and if the ninth-generation firstborn was a boy born directly to the bloodline, he would be the reincarnation of the Shinigami. According to that myth our dear boy_ is_ that entity itself. But what would being a Death God do to his life? He just cannot kill anyone! He cannot be like this all his life! We brought him up to be obedient, to be gentle. Why is he acting like this? _

_Oh, dear Goddess! This madness must not go on any longer. I cannot allow this to happen to my child. If only that myth and that story never existed. He would be entirely ours, he would have been my child and mine alone!_

_

* * *

A week ago I saw him staring out of the window, watching the sun. I called out to him._

_"Darling, do you want to go play outside?"_

_"No," was the answer. I put down the basket I was carrying and went over to him. He was using the rifle-scope to look at faraway trees, overlooking the entire village. He is really attached to it - perhaps we should buy him his own. Anything to stop the madness.  
_

_"That man over there," He suddenly said, pointing with a finger. I looked outside to see the local officer patrolling the area. "Who is he?"_

_"Oh, him! You know Suiryu? He's a fully grown teenager now, he's studying outside Volk... and that's Suiryu's father. Our officer. You met him once when Suiryu came around, didn't you?" I laughed, and swept my hair back. "But you were little more than a baby then. I doubt that you can remember that long ago."_

_"I can't," He replied, and laughed. "How can I remember that far back?"_

_I laughed with him; I was able to understand my child that day, and it felt nice. I stayed with him, laughing and tickling him. Eventually, he quietened and peered at the officer again._

_"It's sad," He said quietly. "I feel sorry for him."_

_I thought this comment odd; but it was possible that he was commenting on how difficult life must be for the officer, patrolling the village at all times. I let it pass._

_And now, one week later, it turns out that he passed away from a heart attack._

_He knows this. His face paled at the news, but no other reaction. Is it possible, then, that he can read the future? Does he look at each one of us and see our deathdays written on our faces? No, no, that can't be, that's unnatural, it's impossible! _

_My child is not the Shinigami! He isn't! He isn't..._

_I don't get it... I don't understand that child..._


	2. Part One, Klonoa: Destruction

**Disclaimer:** Guntz, Klonoa and related characters belong to Namco Bandai games and I do not own them in any way. The whole of this story contains elements that are strictly not canon, and they are purely fiction.

**Author's Note:** This is a fighting chapter. I can't do this the way KH originally turned out, of course: 'Guntz won the fight against Janga. He killed him and lived happily ever after'. That's not the point of this story. It's different now. Do enjoy this mediocre attempt at bloodshed and gunfighting.

* * *

"W... why..."

A figure coughed heavily, sitting up from the ground, staring numbly towards the ground in front of him. He was a scruffy cat, with purple fur that was now blackened with smoke, wearing a torn purple coat. "This can't be... How can it just end like this? Goddamn it, what happened? I was supposed to be strong! I was supposed to be able to complete this mission! Joka's gone... and Garlen... why..." He coughed again, trying to clear his lungs free of Moon dust.

"I thought this would be easy..."

"That strikes you as a pretty dumb one, then." Another voice sneered. Another figure appeared, less taller than the cat and apparently younger but infinitely more intimidating. He appeared to be unshaken by the battle that had taken place mere moments ago. He held a rifle in his hand, his fur a little ruffled and messed up from the fighting, yet he remained still, staring directly at the cat with icy blue eyes. "Janga, your plan failed. Your end has come."

"_Shit_," Janga swore, and tried to get up, failing miserably in the process. "to a pathetic whelp like you?"

The youth's eyes narrowed, becoming steadily dangerous. "Do not test me, Janga."

"I don't _test_," Janga spat venomously onto the ground. "go on, kill me then, _Guntz_. Kill me right now, if you want it that much! How long does it take you to pull the trigger?"

"Not much at all." The youth, known as Guntz, replied coldly. His thumb pulled on the safety and clicked it into place. "I waited eleven years for this. I'm not turning back now." He held up the rifle, looking directly into the rifle-scope, concentrating into the cross-hairs and positioning it over Janga's head.

"That's Butz's," Janga stated dryly. "how sentimental. You kept it," Guntz didn't reply, but his finger tightened on the trigger. "well, it means nothing now."

"Where do you want the bullet to hit first, Janga?" Guntz asked softly. "either of your arms? Legs? Or your head? I can't choose. You pick for me, why don't you? I'll start there and work my way either up or down," His finger tightened on the trigger. "pick carefully."

The purple cat hissed, almost impatiently. "Fuck this, I'm not choosing yet," Janga said just as softly. "knowing you, you little bastard, you probably won't do it quickly and you'll end up mutillating me. I want to be completely _dead_ when that happens. Then you can do whatever you want."

"True, true," The hunter replied somewhat vaguely, eyes still focused into the rifle-scope. "but the truth is, I probably won't keep my promise anyway. I'm a Bounty Hunter. It really doesn't matter where you choose to be hit."

"Then I opt for the heart, or anywhere close to it," The purple cat let his breath come out in a hiss. "go on."

Guntz's hands were steady, holding the rifle still, one eye closed in concentration. His aim didn't waver in the slightest, and his expression didn't change, save for a small twitch of his ear. This did not go unnoticed with Janga, who laughed harshly.

"I wonder why you're hesitating," He remarked. "from what you said, it's evident you want to pull the trigger and kill me right now," Guntz didn't reply and stayed silent. "or perhaps there's something else holding you back?"

"And what would that be?" Guntz asked softly, his eyes glinting dangerously. Janga chuckled.

"I believe you know that better," He looked up into the dark skies above, kicking up the grayish dirt with his felt boots. "you're just like Butz. Stubborn and determined. That's what he was always like. He would run after a bounty for days and weeks at a time and never gave up. Used to drive us all crazy, he did. Ha!" He let out a short laugh. "ahh, fond memories... I still remember everything so clearly after nearly fifteen years. Friends we were... the best of friends..."

"Yet you ambushed him, dragged us out in a fight, stuck your claws into his chest and killed him," Guntz snarled. "some friend!"

"You don't know the full story, young Guntz," Janga said quietly, sounding almost resigned. "... but what does it matter now..."

Guntz's eyes flickered to the right for a moment, and he seemed to stop in motion, half lowering the rifle. The purple cat let out a crazed laugh at the sight, his eyes widening in mirth. His plan seemed to be working well.

"Face up to it, my boy. You can't do it," He sneered. "you're scared of killing me. Nothing more than a coward. Just like your father. He died, Guntz... he died begging for his life... and I _laughed_! How I laughed, watching Butz the Bounty Hunter _kneeling_ to me!"

"My father was not a _coward_," Guntz snarled, "and I'm not one either."

"Why are you hesitating, then?" Janga laughed, his eyes skeptical and mocking. "you can't kill me _that _easily, Guntz. Save your bullets. Save the rifle and come over here."

"What?"

"I can tell you things, my boy, about Butz," The cat whispered. "the way he laughed, the way he held you when you were young, everything. He made _me_ your godfather, Guntz, and that means that I'm technically your guardian. You wouldn't kill a precious guardian, would you?" The hunter flinched sharply at the words, his grip on the rifle tightening. "I could tell you _everything_ you wanted to know. Face it, I'm the only one alive now who knows anything about him - kill me and you kill the memory of your father along with me. Come over to me, my young Guntz, and abandon your friends. See how they haven't come to your defence! Come to me and I could tell you the most amazing stories about him... what he would have wished for you to know..."

"Liar," The hunter whispered, but then it grew louder. "_liar_!"

Both of the cat's eyes widened at the sudden outburst, but then narrowed again. "Liar, am I?" He sneered. "well, you know what? You're a coward, you are! Just a pathetic little whelp! Just like your good-for-nothing father! And you know what I do to cowards? I dissect their bodies and tear their guts out to see the colour of their blood," His red claws flashed. "and usually it's yellow! I'll do to you what I did to Butz all those years ago-"

"Shut up!" Guntz finally shouted.

And he fired.

The rifle kicked back in his hands, and he caught it, holding it steady; Janga clutched at his throat in mid-run, his red claws digging into the skin, eyes wide from pain and surprise. His odd pupils were both dilated from the shock, blood was spurting from his neck, and he stumbled, but still he did not fall. The hunter swore under his breath, and raised the rifle again. He aimed once more, his hands steady despite his body trembling.

"Coward..." Janga whispered, still laughing, despite the blood running out of his mouth. "you'll never amount to anything more than that, whelp! Kikikiki-" Another shot had fired. This one hit him in a direct headshot, and the cat fell over onto the surface of the Moon, his eyes wide and mouth open in mid-laugh. Yet the shots didn't stop, they came again and again and the body thrummed under the rhythm of the bullets. Guntz kept on shooting, his eyes burning in pure hate, his expression murderous. Soon the bullets began to run out, and the ground was littered with the empty cartridges that had fallen out of the rifle.

"Shit!" He swore, and took another set of bullets out, cramming them into the rifle. He tore off the rifle-scope and threw it on the ground as it interfered with his vision. Holding the rifle up, he managed a few more shots before he stopped. Janga no longer moved, his body now almost unrecognizable, but Guntz was nowhere near done.

"You think lying there will save you," He snarled. "I won't forgive you! I can't forgive you! I'll never forgive you, as long as I live!" And then he ran over to the corpse, taking out a short bladed knife from his trousers - he normally used it to skin animals or cut away obstacles, but this was different. With a yell he brought the knife onto Janga's chest, sticking it in, making half-congealed blood spurt out from the gashes.

"How does that feel now, Janga!" He shouted crazily, blood spurting messily into the air. "he would have called your name! My father would have wanted mercy! I screamed for him, I shouted at you to save him-" He kept on stabbing the body, unaware that the blackish-red blood was staining his clothes and face, matting into his fur.

"But you _never_ did, did you!" Guntz shouted, his eyes wild. "I _begged_ you to save him! And you _didn't_!" He no longer knew what he was doing. He was well and truly out of his senses, out of control, and something inside him writhed for more, longed for more...

"Gu-Guntz...!" He heard a shrill gasp behind him, and then a cry of shock. And then a scream sounded, more shrill and loud than the previous one, and a thump as the person behind him sank into his knees - or fainted. Guntz slowly turned and dropped the knife onto the ground, completely unaware of the bloodstains on his face and clothes, and moved over in a futile attempt to hide the mutilated body.

But it was too late.

Klonoa had already seen everything.

* * *

I actually managed to waste a whole chapter using just two characters talking and general bloodshed all around. Fun times.

The real conflict comes later. Until then... (shudders at the thought of a speech lesson tomorrow)


	3. Part One, Klonoa: Flashbacks

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the previous chapter about four days ago.

**Author's Note:** This is a filler chapter. Almost nothing happens in it. This story is actually quite slow paced, once I've planned it out - about a quarter or third of the chapters will be filler material that is important but still pretty boring. Bear with me for a while, my dear readers... I plan to go somewhere... someday... with this story.

Guntz breaks out of his maddened frenzy and the effects of permanent scarring is shown...

* * *

Time meant nothing.

Guntz stared at the trembling boy sitting in front of him. Klonoa was crying and whimpering, curled into a ball; and he seemed to be hyperventilating, inhaling and exhaling sharply at irregular points. The hunter wanted to go over and comfort him, he wanted to tell him it was all over now - but he couldn't. He just couldn't. Part of his mind told him to stay there, that Klonoa didn't even know the full story of what had happened, and he had to bide his time. He would tell the cabbit soon, no mistake about that. Perhaps later. Perhaps never.

Either way, this was not the time.

He sank down onto his knees also, suddenly feeling unbearably tired. All he wanted was to sink down onto the ground and fall asleep, whether the ground was messy with blood or not. His fingers grasped in the dirt for the bloodstained knife, and he wiped the blade subconsciously on the dusty ground. The knife wasn't cleaned, of course; but the silvery dust clinging to the blade disguised the look of the blood on it nonetheless. That was perfectly fine with him. He put the knife back in his belt, and sank back down, his body feeling unnaturally heavy, much too heavy to keep on sitting up. He sat there, staring blankly onto the ground, at the spreading pool of dark, sticky blood, soft whimpers of the cabbit hardly reaching his ears. He heard faintly the sound of footsteps running towards both of them, someone shouting something at him, but he could no longer pay attention. His mind had been wiped blank by the killing so quickly, that it was impossible for him to comprehend anything at all.

"Guntz!" A man was shouting. "Klonoa! What the-" Then there was a gasp, silence, and the voice continued to shout, although suddenly raised in volume. Guntz sat there, expressionless, not reacting at all, never listening.

"Guntz, what have you_ done_?" The man was shouting, a note of rare hysteria in his voice. "all that... Oh, Goddess! What have you _done_? For heaven's sake, Guntz! Answer me!"

"Revenge... I did it..." Guntz slurred. "I killed him... it's over now, Pango..."

Pango stood over him and stared at the large puddle of blood, and the body itself, looking horrified and mildly nauseated. "... There's something behind this, isn't there? This isn't the work of an assassin nor a bounty hunter..." He wrung his hands, looking distraught. "ah, I cannot doubt that you had a reason. Tell me that later - it must have been a very dire reason for you to go into this -_ frenzy_. But Klonoa..." He trailed off, looking towards the place where the cabbit was still curled up. He was quiet now, and no longer cried or whimpered, but still trembling.

"Klonoa-" Pango went over slowly, putting a hand on his back.

The cabbit screamed.

"Get - get away from me!" He cried, slapping Pango's hand away. "I can't - I can't believe it - Guntz couldn't... he-" He let out a quiet groan and slumped forwards, his body hitting the ground limply, and lay dead still.

"No!" Pango quickly put his hand on the cabbit's neck, feeling for a pulse. There was one, but Klonoa didn't react this time; he had fainted dead away from the shock of bearing witness to a frenzied killing. The armadillo stood up, picking the cabbit's body up gently and holding him. "we should get him to Base, quickly! Let's go!"

"Don't go through the Moos, Pango!" Guntz replied weakly. "Klonoa's had enough. Let's go thorugh the other way! That way we can avoid them..."

"Whose fault is that?" The armadillo shot back, but softened as a shadow of pain crossed the hunter's eyes. "I... I apologize... you're right. We can't go through there." He looked up to the northeast, where he could see a crowd of Moos frantically throwing themselves at intruders and blocking the exit. The southwest, however, was a different matter; Janga and some of his allies had terrorized the area so thoroughly that no Moos could live there. It was a deserted wasteland, bubbling with lava, and definitely not pleasant to go through, but they had to get to the Base by any means. The way over there was longer than the northeast way, but completely free of Moos; that was enough.

Guntz was picking up his rifle and various possesions, throwing another blank glance at the dusty knife. He picked up a few rounds of bullets and an empty cartridge, looking at it with tired fascination. Pango came over and peered over his shoulder.

"We must hurry." There was a note of urgency in his voice. Guntz merely nodded and tossed the bullets away, where they landed with a soft clink and rolled over to a crevasse. He put away the cartridge in his pocket, and the armadillo noted mentally how large and hollow the black casing now looked.

"Let's go."

* * *

"... He's in shock... Give him some more..."

"... But won't that make him worse, Pango? We gave him too much already..."

Faint words; faint sounds that made no sense; there was nothing he could comprehend in this eternal darkness. Those occasional snatches of sound made no sense to him at all, and he lay down in blank darkness, unable to do anything.

Klonoa was dreaming.

He was lying down, his body cold, encased in ice - at least, it felt like it. He couldn't move. The cabbit shivered, but didn't open his eyes; it was much too peaceful there, much too quiet. He didn't want to go back to the real world. There was too much pain and terrible events taking place, and his body couldn't take it all.

But he was half awake now. Feeling (to his surprise) that he was only vaguely disappointed, Klonoa tried to figure out where exactly he was meant to be. His body told him it was night, and the stars were fully out. Had he been transported over to a place he hardly knew, as a result to travelling when unconscious? Or was he back in the Moon, lying somewhere - the surface he was lying on was soft and warm, so he assumed freely that he was on a bed or perhaps a campsite, or a caravan of some sort - along with his companions? He wanted to believe both of those things, to believe that he was safe and calm, that he was with people he trusted... Pango... Lolo...

And Guntz.

"No..." Klonoa's lips moved silently, and mouthed Guntz's name again. What had happened with him back then? Hadn't he seen Guntz bending over a purple-clothed body? Hadn't he seen the gleam of a silver knife clenched in his right hand? Hadn't he, the Dream Traveller, seen Guntz's handsome face twisted with hate and incomprehension, seen his dilated, wide sapphire eyes, seen the streaks of blood smeared on his face...

And it had been _Guntz_, no other than the hunter himself, gruff, aloof yet kind-hearted Guntz, who had killed Janga.

"Klonoa must have regained consciousness!" A voice, which Klonoa recognized as Pango's, said from the space next to him. "I don't think he's properly awake, not yet, but he should be up and about soon enough," A shuffle. "he should be capable of some control over his senses now, and more so when he wakes up."

"Doesn't that mean he'll be able to feel pain now?" Another voice replied, and sudden realization struck Klonoa; it was Guntz, speaking in a calm, composed manner after he'd brutally killed another being. He sounded almost faint with fatigue, but he was still audible and clear.

"Unfortunately, yes." As if in timing, his body began to ache in the most unpleasant manner. He didn't know why; what had happened to him? He remembered fighting Moos, but doubted that was actually the reason, as fighting Moos of any kind had never given him that sort of pain before. Was it the fight with - Janga, was it? - but Guntz had taken the lead in that battle and had won. Pango and Klonoa had served as a backup. But then he recalled what had happened; he had fallen. When he'd come up the hill and caught up with Guntz, he had been bending over Janga, frantically stabbing his knife into the body, screaming words the Klonoa could hardly understand. The sight of it had been horrifying, had completely destroyed his train of thoughts and he'd fallen, he'd screamed and whimpered, unable to erase the image from his mind.

And he would never be able to, as long as he lived.

"We'll have to treat him for that."

"Yes," Pango sighed. "where's the medicine necessary for it? Do have a look in the medical supplies bag."

"Liquid morphine... some antidote thing I don't know about, a syringe... and that's it."

"Give me the morphine, Guntz, and the syringe. We need to give it to him fast, it looks like he's suffering already... that'll stop his pain."

Klonoa felt his arm being lifted and something sharp and pointed being stuck firmly into it. He could have screamed from the pain, as he was never fond nor tolerant of needles in particular, but it simply didn't come. The pain registered as a dull annoyance in his mind, nothing more, and he just didn't care.

"Let us leave. We can't disturb him." Pango's voice said, and Guntz murmured something in reply.

There was the sound of the door closing, and Klonoa was left alone. He lay still there for a long while, eyes half open, but they were unfocused and glassy. The ache in his body was slowly subsiding from the morphine unleashing its effects on his body, but there was a sharper pain, something more terrible, that was slowly eating away at his heart. No matter how hard he tried to forget, he just couldn't get over the fact that Guntz had killed a fellow Lunatean and mutilated the body in the worst way possible. It just wasn't the Guntz he had known, and chances were that he could never get that part of the hunter back. The cabbit closed his eyes tightly, trying to stop the tears coming.

* * *

Yay. Mental instability. I'm having fun with Klonoa at the moment. I think I'll have to torture him some more, perhaps, throughout the story - or at least for the entirety of Part 1. It's the Klonoa part after all. Hehehehehehehe...

Erm... yep.


	4. Part One, Klonoa: Past Confessions

**Disclaimer: **What I said in the preious chapter about four days ago.

**Author's Note:** This is another chapter. Half of it's filler, but there are important revelations. Guntz finally speaks out and tells the two why he'd killed Janga - after something else happens. I know the story is paced rather slowly, but it wouldn't help the storyline if everything fell into place quickly. It's just too obvious.

Also I seem to have associated the murder on the first chapter with my History coursework. I read it this morning and realized the killing scene with Guntz and Janga resembles the J. F. Kennedy assassination _too_ closely. Oops.

* * *

"Good morning." Was the soft voice that awoke the Dream Traveller out of his sleep. Klonoa opened his eyes, blinking at the ray of sunlight coming in through the window, and shifted over to look at whoever had spoken. It was Pango, drawing back the curtains and opening the shutters.

"You're awake now!" He exclaimed, and instantly bent down to examine the cabbit. "I'm glad you're fine. Do you feel dizzy or sick in any way?"

"No." Klonoa answered quietly. "I'm a little dizzy... but I'll be okay soon." He stretched and looked at the armadillo once again. "Pango, how long have I been sleeping here? When did you bring me to this place? Where are we?"

"One at a time, Klonoa, one at a time!" Pango held up a hand, silencing Klonoa - but it was in good humour. "We brought you here yesterday night, my boy. We're in the Moon Base. There's no one around, it's just us here. We're safe." He paused for a moment. "You've been asleep for more than fifteen hours."

"That long?" Klonoa rubbed his eyes and sat up properly. "It must have been... true, then..."

Pango did not attempt a reply to this enigmatic statement but carried on opening the two shutters, letting the air in. One seemed to be stuck a little, and he pushed hard on it, causing bits of dust and rusted parts of metal to break off. The shutters opened and he stepped back, looking satisfied. "We should be going out of this room now. You must be hungry, Klonoa."

The cabbit said nothing for a moment and only shrunk down, clutching the bedsheets to his chest. "I don't want to, Pango." He replied quietly.

Pango said nothing and did not retort, but sat down next to Klonoa, looking saddened and looking (oddly) every year of his age. "It's because of Guntz, isn't it?" He asked softly, his voice full of pity and sympathy. The cabbit only nodded and ducked down further, eyes brimming with tears. "I understand, Klonoa... but Guntz must have had his own reasons. It isn't like him to do - _that_." He whispered the last word with great effort, trying to stay away from the words like 'death' or 'killing'.

"I've seen it too, Klonoa. It wasn't like him. That being wasn't... wasn't _our_ Guntz. It must have been something very bad, something we don't know about." His own eyes looked distant as he recalled the horrific sight. Klonoa watched silently.

Normally the cabbit wouldn't have accepted this statement, of course; but it was Pango, it was the gentle armadillo who was talking to him, and he was somewhat easier to believe. Besides, he wanted to believe this so much that he just accepted it without question. The cabbit said nothing, but stopped trying to sink into the bed and sat up again.

"You've got to come out sometime, Klonoa. And it's nine o'clock. We can't hesitate now." Pango's hand tightened slightly on his shoulder, and the cabbit was reminded once again of his primary objective - rescuing Lolo. There was no time to lose at all. Even if that meant ignoring the fact that Guntz had killed, he had to get out there somehow and they would make the journey to the 'Darkness of Nahato'. It was truly their only chance.

"Right," Klonoa replied. "I'll be out in a second."

* * *

Guntz proved to be upstairs when Klonoa finally walked out of the bedroom; he was presumably in the bathroom or one of the other bedrooms, probably checking for intruders, cleaning out rooms, looking for supplies and such. The cabbit didn't want to think about Guntz at all, and was glad of his absence.

"Where's Guntz?" He asked flatly, nevertheless curious about where he was. Pango was preparing breakfast, and looked up slightly as he heard the question.

"He's probably having a shower up there. Or polishing his guns." Klonoa thought about this statement carefully; that was probably what he was doing. The guns, which Klonoa had felt nervous about in the past few weeks he had known the hunter, seemed so familiar and normal now. Strange - he should be frightened. He should be scared of the weapons. But he was not, for some reason, and he assumed that he had gotten accustomed to seeing them. Pango was now slicing some bread, making a small scraping sound in the process. And it was irritating, reminding him of something he was trying to forget.

"Pango," Klonoa called nervously. But the kettle and the pot was boiling and the sound was lost; the armadillo appeared to have not heard, and after a minute or so of checking the food he resumed slicing bread.

Slowly, Klonoa's fists began to clench on the tabletop.

"Stop it." He whispered softly.

"Yes, Klonoa?" Pango called from the kitchen, still slicing.

"Stop it." The cabbit repeated, louder. "Stop it, Pango! _Stop_ it! _Stop_-" He whirled around to see the armadillo standing in the kitchen, looking very confused this sudden display, having stopped the slicing but still holding the bread knife. The sunlight was streaming through the windows and the rays caught the blade of the knife, making it gleam a bright silver.

The cabbit's pupils contracted instantly and he saw red; he couldn't remember anything that had happened for the following few minutes.

"Klonoa! Klonoa..." A voice was calling him. The cabbit awoke sharply and sat up, looking around. What he saw was a strange sight; the kitchen was fine, the saucepans still on the stove; but Pango was sitting on the floor, looking largely shaken. The bread knife was in the sink and submerged underwater, the reflection destroying the silvery light; it now looked dull and grey, and the cabbit was horrified at the revelation. Klonoa felt around for his ring, and felt that it wasn't there; it had been flung away from him and was lying in a corner.

And Guntz was there, holding him, supporting him.

"What happened?" Klonoa whispered, beginning to tremble. He shook himself out of Guntz's grasp, and stood up shakily. "What... did I do?"

Pango seemed too stunned to speak, so the hunter did it for him: "You panicked. You were pointing the ring at Pango, though I don't know why-" He glanced at the armadillo. "What was going on?"

"I don't know." The armadillo replied faintly. "He pointed the ring at my direction, but then you ran in front of him and snatched the ring out of his hands... and you threw the knife into the water while pushing me down... and you revived Klonoa." He exhaled shakily. "I don't know what happened..."

Guntz swore harshly under his breath. "This is all _my_ god-damn fault." He muttered. "All _my_ fault."

The cabbit was very much inclined to agree with this statement, but said nothing. He instead went and picked up his ring, holding it loosely. He now understood what happened; he had seen the knife, had remembered Guntz's silver knife stabbing at the corpse, and he had lost control. Guntz was aware of this, of course, and willing to take the blame - but the cabbit didn't feel much better at this at all. In fact he felt worse, as he had confused and nearly hurt Pango. What was happening to him? Paranoia? Mental deterioration?

"This can't wait anymore." The hunter spoke. "I'll tell you why I had to kill him. It's the only way I shall ever redeem myself and seek some salvation." He closed his eyes. "I've killed him, yes; by the laws of La-Lakoosha I should be damned to hell for eternity. But I had my reasons."

"Tell us them." Pango replied. "They will help us understand."

"I have never told anyone. I've never spoken of the reasons why I even became a hunter in the first place." Guntz said quietly. "Not even my closest associates know this. Oh, I shall tell you; yes, I owe you that much - and once it's over, I shall never speak of it again as long as I live."

"Tell us, Guntz." Pango said quietly. The hunter nodded silently, got up and stood up with his back to them, facing the window.

"My father was a great man." Guntz said softly, and although the group couldn't see it, his eyes were closed. "He was a bounty hunter too. Like me. But as far as bounty hunters go, they usually can't last long in this world. Too many people are after them. Yet I could say, I suppose, that he held out well. He lived to be thirty-six. That's a record." He sighed. "This year will be the year where it has been eleven years since his death."

A bout of silence followed this statement. Klonoa waited, tense, wondering how that was related to Janga.

"But he didn't die of age. He died because his friend betrayed him. First to go was my mother - I know that she was murdered shortly before my father's death. I don't remember much of that - I wasn't present at the time - and I don't know if her incident really was related to that _particular_ friend. I have my own doubts about that. But that's definite for my father. His friend dragged both of us out one day and he killed him."

"And that friend was Janga."

Klonoa gasped quietly at this piece of information; Pango looked intrigued and a certain look of understanding had come over his eyes. Guntz turned around, indifferent to the reaction.

"Thirteenth of June, eleven years ago, my father was murdered by Janga right in front of my eyes." He continued. "It started with an argument. I can't tell you exactly why they were arguing, because I was five years old and didn't understand. But at the end of the argument Janga swore to be the better man of the two. And then I had to witness the killing I saw it, blood and all. Janga's claws were stuck all the way into my father's chest and out through his back." All the while Guntz's voice remained a blank monotone, but his face betrayed his emotions. It was getting stonier, colder, _frightened_... and Klonoa knew that Guntz was back there again, watching his father die. He listened and watched Guntz, fully alert.

"So you wanted revenge." Pango said softly, breaking the silence. The hunter nodded, his face still somewhat frightened, and for an instant he looked like a child, scared and innocent. But within seconds the illusion was gone and he stood there, blue eyes distant but sharp, face pale and emotionless.

"He fell." Guntz continued, his voice sounding far away. "Janga dislodged his claws from his chest and he fell. But he was still alive. I saw him coughing and trembling on the ground. I ran to him, I cried, I begged Janga for him to be saved..." A sad sigh escaped him. "...But he didn't. He didn't show mercy. He just _laughed_, slashed him one more time and left. And yet my father was _still_ alive; he tore off this thing from his clothes and gave it to me." He gestured to the jacket, where the now-silver Hero Medal gleamed. "And then he _whispered_ to me - he could only whisper because his throat was so damaged, and he was coughing up blood as well... 'Stop Janga... stop him, Guntz... I love you, my son.'"

The hunter stopped talking and turned to his companions, and Klonoa was shocked to see his tears welling up in his blue eyes.

"Those were his last words to me." He whispered. "My father never did anything wrong. _Never_. I could never understand why he had to die. But I still kept my promise."

* * *

Klonoa returned to his room and sank down on the bed. So that was the reason why he had killed. It was payback. Even Klonoa knew the rules of vendetta in Lunatea; Guntz's actions had been perfectly justified in that case. It was revenge, not senseless murder. The cabbit would have done the same in the very same situation.

And yet he couldn't forget just like that; even though he knew that Guntz had a reason, he was finding the hunter extremely difficult to forgive. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't sympathize with Guntz at all. This was not to say he felt sorry for Janga, but he couldn't feel sorry nor understand the hunter either. He looked down at his gloved hands again, and then slowly took the gloves off, revealing his bare hands. _What _had he done? _Why_ had he tried to attack Pango? It was _that image_ having its effect, he decided; he had seen the knife, it had fixed itself in his mind, and now he could never forget the image again. The sound of slicing bread reminded him of the knife stabbing the corpse and that was what it had reminded him of. What if he now began attacking everyone who was cooking and using a knife? What if he hurt Pango again? Hell, what would happen if he hurt _anyone _with a knife, regardless of what they were using it for? He could visualize his hands now, covered in blood, and him standing over someone he had hurt... maybe even _killed_ purely out of paranoia.

The cabbit clutched his head. "I'm _not_ going to kill anyone." He whispered frantically to himself. "I'm _not_. I'm not hurting_ anyone_. I _can't._ Stop it, _stop_ it... I _can't _hurt them... I _won't_ hurt them..." Tears were falling down his face in desperation and fear yet he hardly noticed.

"Guntz, this is all your fault." He hissed venomously, clenching his fur. "This is all _your_ fault..."

* * *

Hehehehe... Klonoa isn't going to forgive Guntz that easily. Ah, never that easily. That's just too simple. I'm loving writing Klonoa so far. Gives me the most amazing feeling to make Klonoa insane for once instead of Guntz. xD

I have a four-day weekend. But I probably won't update until next week. Meh.


	5. Part One, Klonoa: Infiltration

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the previous chapter about three days ago.

**Author's Note:** Miii... The story is taking an odd turn at the moment. I don't know how I'm going to write out the next few chapters but I hope to be able to do it in time. I would hate to not finish the story x.x

This is the Klonoa part of the story, yet so far it doesn't seem like Klonoa's doing much at the moment. I don't know why. I'm terrible at this part ;-;

* * *

The hunter sat on his bed, packing his supplies. He didn't own much, of course; but it would be fair to say that he did own a sizable (and fully portable) gun collection. He'd finished polishing them ages ago, and was now loading each of them with bullets, ready to use them in battle. He packed away the mini bazooka, laser (recharged fully, of course), and the pack of missiles neatly, leaving only his handguns and the rifle on the bed. His fingers grasped a handgun and he peered at it, fingers mindlessly tracing the cross-mark on it. Why those marks were there, he never really knew; but he wasn't about to question that now. He looked around for a cartridge of bullets.

"There's one in my pocket." He muttered to himself - he wasn't insane, talking to himself like that, it was just habit - and walked over to where he jacket hung.

Guntz reached into his pocket, bringing out the rifle-scope; the glass was broken and it had been rendered useless. He had thrown it away in the struggle and it had fallen, breaking in the process. He thought about the glass fragments probably still lying on the bloodstained ground, and clenched his fist tightly, making an alarming cracking sound come from the rifle-scope. It had been his father's, it had been his last gift to the hunter, and he'd gone and broken it. Guntz sighed and stowed the rifle-scope away carefully in his bag. He would have to replace the glass in them when this was all over.

If it ever _was_ going to be over.

He sighed, put aside the backpack, and fished around further for the spare cartridge. He soon found the shiny black casing of the cartridge and pulled it out, but looked in dismay as the inside of the cartridge appeared empty. No wonder it had felt so light. What had happened? Guntz was a professional hunter and assassin; no hunter in their right mind would lose all the bullets and leave the cartridge. That was impossible. But then he remembered with a twinge of guilt; of course, he had thrown them away. He remembered picking up the cartridge and tossing away the bullets into the Moon's crevasse, the little pieces of metal rolling around on the ground.

He'd felt that Klonoa had seen enough destruction and had disarmed himself effectively. Cursing himself for caring too deeply, he dropped the cartridge casing into the jacket pocket again, looking around in his bag. There were five cartridges.

Not enough.

Definitely not enough.

His handguns required one each and the rifle required two; after he'd finished loading all the guns he would only have one spare, and after that the light guns would be useless. Of course, he could use his bulkier weapons to fight, but in combat situations he probably wouldn't be able to get them out in time. He preferred fighting with his lighter guns, not heavy weapons, and was physically better at handling them. If his bullets ran out he would have to rely purely on his companions.

And he absolutely _hated_ having to rely on anyone.

Nevertheless he reloaded the rifle first, putting it near the bag. The rifle was far too important to him to deny it the pleasure of battle. Three cartridges were left; he would have to find a weaponary shop soon.

He loaded one handgun, thinking all the time. So much had happened last night, and this morning - he had killed his lifelong nemesis and effectively traumatized Klonoa in the process. He'd recognized that look in the cabbit's eyes when he'd attempted to attack Pango. Guntz, like the cabbit, had seen someone getting murdered in front of his eyes, and had been traumatized and heartbroken for years. Guntz had been so much younger than Klonoa was now when his father was murdered, but as a child of a bounty hunter he had seen blood splashed around many times. He could accept death more naturally, and had been somewhat prepared subconsciously for the future, in case he had to see someone die.

But he'd never imagined it would his father, and he definitely never imagined it would take so long to mend his heart.

Klonoa, however...

Klonoa, despite the way he constantly went around attacking Moos, had never actually been prepared to see a Lunatean _die_ or be murdered. Moos could be revived. Lunateans could not. To see such brutal killing done by a close companion would have frightened the wits out of anyone; but Klonoa, who was especially vulnerable from losing Lolo and the recent troubles taking place, would have been scarred perhaps for life. The cabbit was still so young, still so vulnerable, and Guntz wanted to protect him.

But he'd only managed to hurt the cabbit.

His hand mindlessly caressed his silver Hero Medal. If he had let Janga go, if he'd let him live and had shown mercy, would the Medal have turned silver even so? Would he have proved himself to be the better one? Would he have proved his own self, by showing mercy and compassion? What had his father wanted? Sure, he had wanted Janga stopped; but had that meant that Guntz had to kill him, no questions asked? And now the cat was dead; what purpose did he serve now?

His hand clenched on the Medal. No, he told himself firmly. He had done the right thing. There were more things that he could do with his life now. He would not fail.

He loaded the final handgun and clicked the safety into place, a small smile on his face. He would do his best for always and prove himself further. He would protect his companions. He would get out of this alive and in one piece.

He would take care of Klonoa.

* * *

"Pango, I'm ready." Guntz called and walked down. "Pango, I'm ready... let us leave..."

"Guntz!" The armadillo called back, sounding urgent. The hunter stopped in his tracks. "Stay there! Don't come down. Just _stay_ there!"

"What's going on?" Klonoa was coming down also, looking curious. "What's happened?"

"Klonoa, you stay up there too! I'm coming." Pango called back and then there was silence. The two waited in awkwardness, not daring to look at each other, looking over the banisters to figure out what was happening. A sudden crash and a shout sounded from below, making both of them jump, and then the armadillo was running right up the stairs. He was running surprisingly fast, holding something in his hand, and without a word ushered them back upstairs.

"Pango, what-" Klonoa started but fell into silence as he saw what Pango was holding.

"That's a Moo." Guntz stated blankly, staring at the deflated carcass. "Pango, what's a _Moo_ going to do to us?"

"You don't understand." The older man seemed out of breath but he was still sounding coherent. "It's a Moo_ indoors_. They travel around in swarms. If there's one here - I don't know how it came in, maybe through an open window - they're bound to come in masses! We're being infiltrated!"

Klonoa's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, only to be silenced by a huge crash downstairs. The door had been broken open, and something was swarming in, coming in through the doorway -

"Moos." Pango mumured. "They're flooding the rooms downstairs. They aren't exactly the brightest of creatures-" A grim smile made its way to his face. "-but they'll reach us in a matter of hours, if not minutes, even we stay up in the seventh floor or the very top of the Base. Either they found us in this Base while scavenging for coins, or someone's _really_ desperate to eliminate us." He chuckled without humour. "Personally I opt for the latter choice."

"Guess who that might be." Klonoa replied, just as grimly.

"Garlen." Guntz answered the rhetorical question, and then the trio sighed, looking down in dismay. "What do we do now? Shall we try to break through the Moos and escape, shall we resign ourselves to our fate, or shall we try to call for backup?"

"There are too many Moos down there." Pango peered over the banisters. "They reproduce and revive quickly. There's no use trying to break through them - we'll be killed. They're all holding swords and shields." He peered even further. "My thoughts were right, then. They're in perfect position for them to attack us, see how they're all moving inwards to make room for more to come in. They're paid killers. Wild Moos only charge around without direction or purpose, and I suspect there would have been a larger swarm than this trying to force their way out if that was the case..." The armadillo sighed and drew back from the banisters. "Looks like it was indeed Garlen who sent them here. We've been discovered!"

"Damn it!" Guntz brought his fist down on the banisters hard, swearing in Native Volk. "There might be less of them, but they're even more dangerous than wild Moos!"

"Exactly, Guntz. The swarm will expand in size soon enough." Pango replied. "But I highly doubt we'll have to give ourselves up soon. That has to be the last option. Yet..." He paused. "All backup calls via the main line are redirected to Garlen's location. Obviously we can't call for backup, because Garlen will _not_ help us in any way. Either that or he agrees and betrays us just to be even more sadistic."

The trio fell into an uncomfortable silence. Group suicide seemed to be the only option that was even slightly realistic now, and the situation was getting dangerous by the second.

"Can't we use the other line?" Klonoa asked. "If the main line isn't going to work we'll have to try the other one."

"But that line's almost permanently engaged!" Pango exclaimed. "We'll never get through in time!"

"Actually that is worth trying." Guntz interrupted. "Klonoa has a point. All main lines are redirected to Garlen, but the other line isn't. And the Moon people are our allies - they might help us out of this place soon."

"But Pango said the line was permanently engaged!" Klonoa put in. "We just don't have time. Thousands of people must be using it!"

"So they all think." The hunter grinned briefly. "If everyone thinks that the line is permanently engaged no one will use it, will they? Let's hope, Pango, that we're not alone in assuming that the second phone line is queued in unimaginable proportions."

* * *

Guntz's theory proved to be correct; the line wasn't as busy as predicted. In fact they could call anyone and anywhere they wanted - as quickly as in Lunatea. After a few test calls with their communicator the only problem was where they would call for maximum results.

"We can't just call the landline and request help," Klonoa said. "That'll just throw the whole operation into chaos. And we don't know if the operators will be on our side."

"Everyone, relocate!" Pango shouted, seeing the Moos clambering up the stairs. "They're coming up!"

"Already?" Guntz muttered, and the trio ran up the stairs again. "It doesn't take them too long..."

"They move fast." Pango said softly. "At this rate we really, really don't have much time. Klonoa, are there any other options beside the landline? It'll help if we can get through somewhere else that's more related to our situation."

"The police and emergency lines are cut, but that can't be helped. Garlen would have targeted those first." Klonoa idly pressed a button. "That leaves us the landline... and the mayday signal."

"Mayday signal?" Guntz's ears twitched. "That can only be used if we have an airship!"

"That's not the problem!" Klonoa shot back. "We need all the help we can get! It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Klonoa, try the mayday signal." Pango cut in swiftly, ending the argument. Klonoa nodded, glad to be free of the argument itself, and pressed a button. Guntz sat down again, looking somewhat doubtful and annoyed, but said nothing.

* * *

"The main headquarters... do you need help?" A female voice came on the line. "We recieved your signal."

"We are not exactly requesting a mayday rescue," Pango answered. "It's the only thing we could find that was even remotely close to rescue. Can you help us?"

"Ah, I thought there would be a call like this sooner or later." The voice replied, sounding strangely glad. "Yes, I can help you. Describe your situation, please."

"I am with two others. We have little supplies and within an hour we will be smothered by Moos, because they've made their way inside the building that we're staying." Pango relayed this information with eerie calmness, but the two others flinched. Hearing Pango actually say this reminded them just how desperate the situation really was.

"Those little beasts." The operator muttered. "They destroy _everything_! They turned against all of us and sided with Garlen. All because he pays them."

"Too right." Pango agreed. "But if you can help us will you please hurry?"

"Don't worry." The calm female voice replied. "What are your co-ordinates?"

"Fifty-five north, forty-six east." Pango replied quickly. "We shall use the mayday signal to pinpoint our location."

"I'm coming now." The voice answered, still calm. "That is the Lunar Base, isn't it? Go to the very top of the building, stay there... and I'll be there in about five or six minutes. That is how far I am from your location."

"Wait." Pango put in. "How can we trust you? How can we be sure that you're not a spy of Garlen, or hostile to us in any way, or leading us into a trap?"

There was a small laugh from the communicator. "There's no need to be afraid. You can trust me." The voice answered. "On the Moon there are only two sides now: Garlen and us. There is no one except for Moos that side with Garlen. All people are against him, and so are we. The whole of the headquarters is made of the resistance. It is inevitable, I suppose. Besides, if it helps, I'm a Lunatean too. We're all in this together."

"She's a Lunatean too, hmm?" Guntz interrupted. "And how did _she _end up here?"

"Oh, I can hear your companions!" The voice giggled happily. "To answer that particular question... well, that's another story. I'm coming right now. I swear that I am unarmed in person. Please wait for me at the top of the building!"

"Affirmative. Connection closing." Pango said briskly and put down the communicator. The trio looked at one another.

"Should we have trusted her?" Klonoa finally said the thing they were all thinking. "What if she's a spy? Or a worker of Garlen's?"

"We have no choice but to trust her at the moment. There's no choice. She swore herself to be unarmed in person, and that's a special vow that Lunateans cannot physically break. Goes back hundreds of years ago." Pango sighed, and then stood up. "Let's go up to the top of the Base. Only thing we can do."

"And then...?"

"We wait."

* * *

Riiiiiight. The story takes a wholly different turn. But this part is going to focus on Guntz and Klonoa, I swear it... It really is going to... x.x


	6. Part One, Klonoa: Rescue

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the previous chapter about two days ago.

**Author's Note:** This chapter was the hardest to write.

Really.

Incorporating a Nike-wielding young girl into a game adapt, a game in which she doesn't even _appear_ in is really no joke.

This chapter is filler. Pure filler, but without it the whole thing just wouldn't be able to proceed... Some more action will take place soon and probably in the next chapter too. I feel that I'm writing this part quite quickly - because this part, I think, is the most difficult part for me. Trying to write in primarily Klonoa's point of view without making it first person - ack x.x

* * *

"She should be arriving soon..." Pango looked up worriedly at the sky. "It's been five minutes..."

"Perhaps they're tracking all air routes?" Klonoa suggested.

"No." Pango answered. "Garlen can't do that. That's not allowed, and besides air travel is nothing anyone can track down. Garlen only has Moos on his side, remember." He looked towards the floor entrance. "Someone needs to go and check if they're up yet."

"I'll go." Guntz volunteered, and without waiting for a reply jumped down through the entrance. Klonoa and Pango looked blandly at the trapdoor, not saying anything at all.

"Well." Pango finally said. "There you go. Hotheaded, indeed."

* * *

In less than a minute after Guntz had gone down, the sound of engines cut through the previously silent morning air.

"You hear that, Pango?" Klonoa asked. Pango nodded, looking towards the direction of the sound.

"That's an airship..." He murmured. "Just as I thought. There's no way a land vehicle can help us now." He shielded his eyes from the sun to look closer. "Wait... is that a stealth airship? Those ones are used only in combat..."

The airship was a small one, swift in flight and stealth. From a distance it vaguely resembled an eye, and the two stood silently, watching the airship spiral down towards the top of the building. With a small crash it landed on the surface, kicking up dust clouds. The two reeled back from the aftershock, and coughed at the dust clouds; the pilot was descending the stairs now.

The first thing they heard from the pilot was a giggle.

"Hi!" The pilot took off her goggles and smiled brightly. "I'm Leorina - call me Leo - and I presume that you are the ones I talked to earlier?"

"That's right." Pango answered. The girl was definitely Lunatean. She had sun-kissed brown skin, bright blue eyes, dark red hair tied back in a ponytail and a beautiful smile. From a distance she could be mistaken for a female version of Guntz. She grinned happily at the reply and looked around.

"Where is the third member of this group?"

"Downstairs, checking for Moos." Klonoa piped up. "He'll be back in a minute or so."

"Yes, the Moos..." She looked towards the trapdoor. "When you talked to me, where exactly were they? Swarming or searching?"

"Flooding the second floor. They took five minutes to move up a floor when we last checked." Pango frowned. "Although... it's possible that they breed faster as they get higher up the building. There are more of them..."

"Now that is really bad." Leorina looked down from the building, grimacing at the sight. "Eh? Those ones are trained Moos! And they've surrounded the entire area! They sure do move fast." She sighed. "It's probably Garlen's work. _He_ can afford to waste Moos like this."

"They've surrounded the area?" Klonoa looked down, seeing the organized armies of Moos gathered around the building in a circle. "But... how could we have not known that? We've been here all the time they were inside!"

"That's probably why. They move too fast, once they begin to reproduce and revive themselves - no, they don't need someone to attack them, they step on each other's heads and stab each other because they make themselves too crowded. But that doesn't do them any harm." Leorina explained. "If they've spilled outside then there must be hundreds inside the building right now."

"Yes." Pango continued, taking up the explanation. "Moos move around in continuous circles and ensure that they have the widest space around. That's their nature. They don't need to be taught how to surround a building - their nature does it for them." He glanced down briefly. "See? They're quite naturally in step. That's not the way a creature that's been taught to do something moves."

Further conversation was interrupted when Guntz emerged from the steps below, panting heavily and covered in dust from head to foot.

"They're up to the sixth floor!" He shouted. "And they're flooding the staircase too. Any more hesitation and we'll all be killed-" He stopped, looking at the airship. Pango looked dismayed at the news, Klonoa seemed wiped of all emotion, but there was a girl who he'd never seen before. She smiled at him, winking.

"And that's why help is here." She answered with a small grin. "I assume you're with Pango and Klonoa?"

"That's right." The hunter replied. "You sure got here fast. Thank the Goddess!"

"Indeed." The girl seemed to be enjoying the conversation, rather, as she kept smiling and winking. "My name's Leorina. What's yours?" She looked at him and laughed for a moment, stepping closer to him and brushing off a speck of dust in his hair. "Can I call you Dusty?"

"Eh?" Guntz sounded annoyed. "No-" His eyes met with the girl's for a moment, and he froze, eyes widening. He stayed like that for a few seconds, staring into Leorina's eyes, unable to move or speak. Leorina looked surprised at this sudden reaction, but then grinned again.

"You like me that much already, do you?"

"That... that mark..." Guntz raised a shaking hand and pointed at the girl's direction. "What's _that_ doing there?"

"Huh?" Leorina looked around. "What mark? Are you okay?"

"Guntz, are you really all right?" Pango asked, looking concerned.

"Y- yes... I apologize. There was this... pattern on a Moo's back down there on the ground. It reminded me of... _something_." Guntz muttered and lapsed into silence for a moment. "Oh, let's go! The Moos will be here in a second!"

"Okay!" Leorina answered and she jumped up nimbly onto the pilot seat. "Hop on!" Klonoa and Pango jumped onboard instantly, Guntz following in a somewhat dazed mood.

* * *

Klonoa sat himself down and looked out of the window, noting mentally how the Base was now fully infiltrated with Moos. They had gotten out just in time, which was good. Pango was in the other cabin, complaining of a headache; and Leorina had let him rest. Klonoa didn't blame him. Pango must have been so tired, looking after two teenagers and trying to keep track of everything that was going on. It would be tough being the oldest one in a group.

Then he remembered. Before Pango had come along Guntz had been in that place.

Perhaps Guntz had had too much stress to cope with at the time. Perhaps that had been the reason why he'd abandoned Klonoa in the Moon's Ruins - no, that wasn't it. It was Janga that time too. That was why he had left. Klonoa glanced at the hunter, sighing to himself.

He shouldn't have left the cabbit alone. Guntz had been given a duty to protect him, and he shouldn't have abandoned the cabbit in the Moon's Ruins. And after all the admiration Klonoa had for him, after all the care he had given the hunter...

Thinking of those things made his head ache. He shook his head lightly to clear it, but soon gave that up and leaned back on the seat, unable to do anything else.

Klonoa suddenly felt _unbearably_ tired.

Speaking of tiredness, Guntz looked pensive and somewhat shaken, and he kept throwing uneasy glances at the pilot seat. The cabbit looked at him, but the hunter seemed unusually distracted and didn't notice; that was odd. _Very_ odd. He wondered what Guntz had really seen - despite the hunter's words, dismissing the whole thing as 'a pattern on a Moo', Klonoa knew, blatantly, that he was lying. A pattern on a Moo would not disturb him like this. Guntz had always been cool and calm, and had never been shaken, never looked like this before.

Suddenly, the hunter began turning around to look at the cabbit. Thinking quickly, he turned around himself and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. This seemed to work, as Guntz only glanced at him for a second. When his back was turned towards the cabbit, he opened his eyes a little.

"Klonoa's asleep." The hunter said softly, turning back towards the pilot seat.

"And you should get some sleep too." Leorina answered. "I heard that Joka and Janga are dead. They were henchmen and pretty nasty ones too." She grinned. "Well done. All of you deserve some rest."

"You know of them?" Guntz said quietly. Leorina nodded. "There's still one left. I can't allow myself to fall asleep. Sleep is a luxury for me. Until we find him..."

"Garlen." Leorina answered softly. "I know. He's the mastermind behind all this."

"He's not the only one." Guntz said. "Joka is down. Janga is down. Garlen's the only one that remains. They were planning to wake the 'Darkness of Nahato'."

"No!" Leorina looked shocked and almost swerved into a giant cloud. She pulled back in direction immediately. "The Darkness of Nahato?_Never_! We can't allow it! Once that's been awakened the whole world will be destroyed!"

"You know of it?"

"I do indeed." Leorina looked somewhat sorrowful as she said those words. "But I wish I never learned of it. It just confirms the fact that..." She trailed off. "Never mind. It's all in the past anyway."

"We have a score to settle with him. We have to go to wherever Garlen may be." Guntz said urgently. "Do you know where he is?"

"I do." Leorina replied in the positive yet again. But she said nothing else.

"We have to go through the Moos again, don't we?" Guntz asked. His grip tightened on his pistol. "And we're out of supplies too..."

"There's a weaponary shop nearby, Guntz." Came the reply. "You'll never get through the Moos without a full supply of weapons, ammunition and rations. That shop sells nearly everything possible. I'll drop you there and then wait for you outside."

"What?" The hunter looked shocked. "You're going to _wait_?"

"I'm not just abandoning you in the middle of nowhere!" Leorina said fiercely. " After that, I'll take you to Garlen's Base. Directly overhead, so you don't have to go through the Moos. You'll need all the supplies to fight him. And don't try to stop me doing that... I've waited for someone like you three to come along for days. You're the only ones we can rely on. And besides..." A small, humorless laugh escaped her. "I have some business to take care of with him, too."

Klonoa watched the whole exchange with intense concentration, and noticed something extremely strange about Guntz during the conversation.

He never looked at her eyes.

* * *

This part of the story really cannot go on without the Garlen and Nahatomb fights. I would much rather do without, of course, but then there's no point. Trying to stuff in action like fighting and such in an emotional piece really doesn't fit right. Unless someone dies/gets grievously injured in the fight and lots of emotional words are exchanged along with bucketfuls of tears.

Ah, but no... that's not going to happen. Yet.


	7. Part One, Klonoa: Enter'acte

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the previous chapter about six days ago. Long update time. Yay.

**Author's Note:** I am kind of not liking the way the filler is going on. From chapter four the story has been random. Next chapter will provide kickassery battle. Oh yes. Emotional piece, bloodshed and battles. A recipe for fusion.

_I am so hungry._

* * *

"Here." A long, round object was put onto the counter. "Can you replace the glass in this?"

The shop owner picked the object up and looked hard at it, turning it around. His eyes stopped at the end of it. "Hmm... this is a fine rifle-scope you've got here, sir. Old but definitely a good one." He frowned. "The glass is broken at _both_ ends! What happened to it?"

"I would rather not say." Came the brief reply. "Can you replace both ends of it? I have a feeling I might need this thing soon."

"I could, for sure." The owner replied, now measuring the diameter of both ends of the rifle-scope. He briefly noted down the measurements in a pad and glanced at the back of the shop. "This'll need a good lens in either side. What is your vision in both eyes? We do customized lenses here. Or do you wish for a test to determine your vision?"

"No thank you. I already know mine." The youth replied politely. "Perfect vision on both eyes."

"Now that makes it easier." The owner smiled and set down the rifle-scope on the counter. "Please wait for a while. It'll only take about ten minutes or so. I need to cut out the glass to make it fit. Every so often someone comes in with a pair of glasses, telescope or binoculars to be fixed and I customize lenses for all of them. Besides, we can all do with help every now and then."

"Thank you." The young man replied gratefully and sank down onto a chair, eyes closing, body relaxed in a small nap. Two others, who were buying supplies from the other side of the shop itself, came along and sat down next to him. The youngest one sighed and stretched a little.

"I feel like living once again." He said, nearly weak with happiness. "Supplies! We have rations now. That'll get us through." He laughed. "Leorina's been incredible. She's so lovely!"

"It's nice to see you smile again." Pango commented. "You've been down for the past few days. Now this is more like Klonoa."

"Thank you." Klonoa answered, smiling. "I feel really happy. She's so nice too, it's almost unbelievable-"

Pango smiled. Klonoa had cheered up considerably, chattering along happily as he had used to before they came to the Moon. The thought of seeing Lolo again and achieving his dream had motivated him once more and he seemed to have recovered. Meeting unexpected company and buying more supplies had done a good job as well. Being a father Pango found himself caring deeply for the two teenage boys he was travelling with; although he already had a son, and held a certain desperation to end it all and go back home to cure him, he still found himself worrying and getting out of his way to help them.

"Can we eat here, Pango?"

"Yes, I suppose so. We all need a good meal if we want to defeat anyone." Pango checked his wallet. "There's still quite a lot. I guess the Moo hunting helped. I'll pay in that case."

"You don't need to." A voice replied from the doorway, and Leorina appeared, walking over to the counter. Her arms were covered in grease from fixing up the engines and she held a spanner in one hand. "My treat, this one. Don't worry. This old girl here-" She patted herself on the shoulder, looking amused. "-has some dreamstones left in her wallet too."

"Oh, Miss Leorina!" The shopkeeper called, coming out of the back of the shop. He put two different sized lenses onto the counter carefully and looked again at the girl. "How are you doing? It's been quite a while since I've last seen you!"

"Indeed." Leorina answered, turning around and smiling. "It's been a long while since I've last been here. Even before Garlen came along, I think."

"Yes." The shopkeeper's face turned serious and he picked up a pair of tweezers, carefully picking out pieces of the remaining glass from the rifle-scope. He dislodged a few pieces and threw them away in the bin. "Before Garlen came along. Everyone believed you and the others were taken prisoner but then some people confirmed your escape. I've spoken to you by phone line many times after that but I don't recall seeing you in the flesh..."

"I had to stay low." Leorina answered. "I mean... Garlen is looking for me and a couple of others who've run away. And he sends Moos after us. But the bottom line is that they're no use against airships or form of air transport. He hasn't succeeded in re-capture so far." She winked at Klonoa and Pango. "There is no need to worry."

"How's the Crimson Iris, then?" The shopkeeper had finished the cleaning and was now inserting a lens.

"Just been fixing her up."

"Crimson Iris?" Klonoa questioned. Leorina giggled a little.

"I named my airship Crimson Iris. You've got to admit it does look like an eye from up above. She's a fine old ship. Came all the way from Lunatea." She turned to the shopkeeper again. "What are you fixing, then, my good sir? Looks like a telescope to me."

"Rifle-scope." The shopkeeper corected, now polishing the finished product. "This admirable young man wanted it fixed. We do customized lenses here. Have been doing it for years." He set the rifle-scope down and looked over to where Guntz was sleeping. "There he is... he's asleep. He must be tired."

"I know." Pango went over to Guntz, who was sleeping quite heavily by this time. He didn't move a muscle and stayed very still. The armadillo put two fingers on the hunter's neck and felt his pulse; it was there, beating regularly and he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Wolves, especially the golden ones, needed little sleep but slept like a log when they did lie down. He knew that, but in this situation it was perfectly possible to imagine that Guntz was dead. He shuddered inwardly at the concept but turned to the others. "He doesn't sleep very well. I don't recall seeing him sleep since..."

"And he definitely didn't go to sleep when we were in the airship." Leorina put in. "He talked and kept me company. And he stayed awake to navigate with me."

"So this makes it... his first proper sleep in three days." Pango said. "Poor boy..." He patted the youth on the shoulder. Klonoa stayed silent during the whole conversation, but a light of pity had entered the boy's eyes; perhaps Guntz hadn't done anything bad. Yet the killing played out every time he looked at the hunter. As he now stared at the tranquil, sleeping face, he found it difficult to imagine that he was actually a killer.

Just then, Guntz's eyes opened.

He blinked once or twice, his blue eyes glazed with sleep. He looked drowsy and almost innocent in the moment, but then his eyes regained the usual sharp focus and he sat up. "How long have I been sleeping for?" He asked. His body curved in a graceful stretch and he slumped down again. "Did you get the supplies?"

"You've been sleeping for almost ten minutes." Pango answered kindly. "And yes, we do have the supplies."

"Your rifle-scope is finished." The shopkeeper called.

"Already?" Guntz stood up and walked over, inspecting the polished object. "That was fast. Most companies take a full day to mend something like this." He looked into the rifle-scope, closing one eye and nodded. He tried the other eye. "This is wonderful!"

"We take pride in our work." The shopkeeper answered, looking cheerful. Guntz turned towards him, a satisfied look on his face.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing, sir, nothing!" The shopkeeper shook his head. "You are our only hope. It would be dishonourable to charge for something that will be used in a noble way."

"But-"

"No need, sir." The shopkeeper insisted. He looked directly into the hunter's eyes. "Please help us. Garlen's influence cannot be tolerated any longer. Help us bring peace to this world. You are all worthy of being a hero, every one of you." He pressed the rifle-scope gently into Guntz's hands."Use it well."

* * *

"What is your plan?" Leorina asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin. Pango closed his eyes for a moment, while the other two looked apprehensive.

"We plan to get through the Moos as a shortcut." Pango answered. "I know there are many of them, but we never have to fight all of them to get through. Besides the weapons are powerful - we stand a better chance of attacking with them."

"Instead you had to use the majority of your coins." Leorina stated. The trio sighed in unison.

"We can't deny that. That's why we have to get through the Moos. They drop dreamstones and gold. We have to get money to survive." Guntz said somewhat urgently. "It's really the only way."

"First." The girl put down the napkin and held up a finger. "There are hundreds of Moos. Perhaps thousands. You're never going to destroy all of them. Second. You'll never carry all the gold. They slow you all down. You don't want that. Third. Money means little to all of us right now. Garlen isn't going to be bribed, and money isn't going to do anything to him. Not even food purchases can be trusted far away from here."

"Good point." Pango nodded. "But what other option is there?"

"I'll take you. We'll fly over the Moos. There are still a lot of dreamstones in your bags, I should think."

"She's right." Klonoa piped up. "Are dreamstones counted as currency here?"

"Yes." Leorina answered. "It should get you through anything. If money's the only problem, let's face it - we can't afford to waste supplies on Moos..."

"Wait." Klonoa and Pango both said. "What do you mean 'we'?"

"I'm not leaving you behind here." Leorina said with such calm and directness that the trio could say nothing to this statement. "I'm coming with you to fight Garlen. I have something to settle with him myself. The Crimson Iris will aid all of us; there's no hope of you going through the Moos on foot. There are simply too many. No, I'm taking you to Garlen's Base directly and come with you."

"But-"

"I'm coming with you." Leorina repeated. "And I won't change my mind."

* * *

"Here we are." Leorina said softly as the Crimson Iris landed. "He doesn't allow anyone on foot inside, but he allows airships. They often carry supplies for him. But no one from either side can shoot them down because many airships are also our allies. It's not as if the airships are painted to be easy to spot or tell apart from the other. No one, including Garlen, can tell them apart." She opened the doors and allowed the trio to get out. As Guntz passed by she grasped his shoulder.

"What?"

"You are all such goddamned crazy people." She murmured. "But I'm one too, I guess. I'm not backing out now."

"You can still go back." Guntz whispered, yet still facing forwards. "It's not safe for you to be here."

"It's not safe for _anyone_." She corrected. "I might be a girl but I can do this much. I'm not going back." And without another word she brushed past him, running forward. The hunter looked at her, before he began running also, thinking of the strange mark he'd seen hours ago.

The Base proved to be a rather strange place; the whole place was filled with machinery of various sorts, and they would block their way. There were Moos there also, guarding Moos, but with their powerful weapons they weren't much of a problem.

"He's on the top floor." Leorina said. "We're halfway up. Come on!"

Leorina was a great companion to have around, they all realized; She had undeniable skill around the Moos, and seemed to know every shortcut in the place. Every now and then she would make a sharp turn, and the trio would shout out questions as to this change of route when a staircase or an item appeared and silenced all protests. She led them everywhere, letting them pick up items, and avoided Moos whenever she could. When an obstacle got on their way it was she who would normally know how to deal with it.

"It's this door." She finally said. "And then we'll meet Garlen." She said between heavy breaths as they stopped. "You'd all better be prepared."

Klonoa could hardly take it anymore; he sank down onto the ground and curled up, confused and somewhat disoriented. He was panting heavily from running up flights of stairs, and his body shook with some emotion neither of them really understood. Tears were running down his face.

"You'll be okay, Klonoa. You'll be okay. Just hold on." Leorina whispered. "Don't cry. Don't be scared."

"Who are you?" He blurted out, sounding half scared and half exhausted. "I thought you were Lunatean, just like us!"

"I am."

"Then how come you know so much about this place? What is it that you're not telling us? How much do you really know about Garlen?" Klonoa cried, desperate. "Leorina, please!"

Leorina shook her head sadly. "I wish I could tell you." She replied, obvious regret in her voice. "I wish I could. When all of this is over, I'll tell you everything about me - everything - but now is just not the time. Klonoa, I'm not the important one now. We have to get rid of Garlen and the Darkness of Nahato." There was a note of urgency in her voice. "When that's over - I'll... I'll tell you." She stopped talking, letting heavy silence take over them for a while. Klonoa wiped his tears and stood up.

"Better?" A nod. "Okay. Here goes." Leorina pushed the doors and let them fall open; she walked in first, brave and fearless, face to face with the inventor himself.

"Long time no see, Garlen."

* * *

Dun dun dun! Cliffhanger.

I'm having problems with my body at the moment. It refuses to co-operate with me. The fact that I haven't eaten for a week probably adds to this. They're putting the new kitchen in. Fun. So the whole house is covered in wooden chips and there's dust.

The story will commence like it was originally intended to be when I start eating again. Properly.


	8. Part One, Klonoa: Memento Mori

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the previous chapter in the 8th of December.

**Author's Note: **This chapter was so horrible to write.

So, so unbelievably horrible.

You might not like it. It has the Garlen scene. I played Garlen five times in Momett-san's house to write this.

* * *

The doors swung open and smoke spilled out, creeping dense and thick along the ground. Klonoa, who was considerably shorter than the other three, coughed at the unpleasant fumes; but the others remained silent. Leorina watched the smoke fade away, expressionless, until it was all gone and they could see inside the doorway. Leorina walked in first.

The doorway led to an open hall. Klonoa had half expected it to be filled with machines but this was not the case; there was a protruding platform, he could see, with a complicated control panel on it. There was a chair in front of the panel. But other than that there was nothing; it was an immense blue hall, empty, dark and dull. The smoke had fully cleared now, and Klonoa puzzled for a few seconds over _what _had caused it.

"Long time no see, Garlen."

There was no reply for a moment. But then the chair on the platform swiveled around to face them - almost violently - and the person sitting on it was looking at them, staring with certain blankness. He wore an eye-patch around one eye, wearing all green, a hat pushed down his forehead to conceal most of his face.

"There you are." Leorina called out with false humour, approaching the platform without fear. "It's been a long time."

"You." Garlen said expressionlessly, but then his face contorted in either rage or shock. "_You_!"

"Me." Leorina said calmly. "You enslaved me once. You won't do it again. Your path ends here, Garlen." She flicked a switch in the corner of the room whilst speaking, turning all the lights on. "Don't even _try_ to kill us. I know too much of your ways for that to be possible."

"Who said I was going to kill you?" Garlen snarled, looking irritated. "You shouldn't have come here in the first place. But you're here now and that can't be helped, I suppose. And you're with others." The inventor seemed to be brooding about this information for a minute, but then turned from them to the control panel. "What do you all want?" Their presence seemed to make no difference to him; Klonoa glanced at the hunter next to him, who was staying unusually silent, and stepped out.

"We want you out of here." Klonoa said, and the others nodded in agreement. Leorina quietly nodded to Pango, who slipped into a corner without the inventor noticing. They were in shadows, which made this job easier. "Even if you do not decide to fight us, we will still fight you. Whether you choose to retaliate or not is your decision."

"Your companions are down." Guntz added in. "Joka and Janga are both dead. You have no backup."

"What?" Garlen stood up quickly, now looking shocked as he had never been before. "Janga _died_? I knew Joka was dead, but that's- that's impossible!"

Leorina seemed to be enjoying the situation as she gleefully watched the inventor's reaction. "Considering he didn't contact you for a few days, I was thinking you might actually get _suspicious_. Obviously not. Surprised, are you?" Garlen didn't answer.

"It's pointless to call for any other backup, I suppose." Garlen finally said, smiling grimly to himself. "Isolating me from help. Nice one. You got me there, Leorina." He shrugged, the grim smile unfading, and looked over the group. "What option do I have?"

"Where's Lolo?" Klonoa blurted out before anyone could say another word. "You've got her, I know that. You arranged to have her kidnapped. At least you must know her location!"

"I do." Garlen replied lazily, the unpatched eye glinting. He had found a weak spot. "But that doesn't mean I should hand the priestess over right now, boy! It doesn't mean I'm going to tell you right now where your little sweetheart is!" Klonoa clenched his teeth and glowered at the inventor as Pango quietly slipped back into the shadows.

"You might find there is no alternative." He spoke up confidently, provoking the inventor to look around again and frown. "I've set up something you don't have a knowledge of in this hall." Here he held up a small remote, which Garlen squinted at. "Tell us where Lolo is and be sharp about it, soon it might be too late."

"That's..." Garlen's eyes widened. "What the - how...!"

Leorina looked relaxed and almost ghastly-cheerful. "_Now_ seems too late to me." She said idly. "We can find the priestess by ourselves too, Garlen... I don't think you've harmed her. That's not your style." She winked at Pango. "Go on then, Pango. It shouldn't hurt _us_."

"If you wish." Pango pressed a small button on the remote, and almost instantly flung it away, holding the other three tight, throwing himself down and curling up on the ground. "Hold on tight, you three!" He shouted.

And then it began.

A series of explosions went off all around them; the sound of tiles and boards breaking off was tremendous, and the group winced at the horrible sounds. Pango had set a bomb circuit all around the walls while the group had been talking, effectively destroying the entire hall. Klonoa had marvel at the brilliance, attacking with a surprise offensive like this, but the sounds terrified him even so and he curled up tighter in the armadillo's arms. They couldn't hear each other, let alone Garlen; he wondered what was going on, and whether the inventor had perished or escaped.

It seemed an eternity until it was all over.

"You all right? Did we win?" Klonoa hollered, rolling off Pango's grasp and standing up. Guntz was the next to emerge, looking shaken, coughing and his clothes dusty but otherwise unharmed. He said nothing and merely surveyed the surroundings, biting his lip. Leorina was the last to stand up, and then Pango looked up, quickly looking around the hall.

"Garlen... I can't see him anywhere."

"Stay on guard." Leorina said quietly. "He's not one to perish easily."

"Too right, Leorina." A snarl came from above. "Too right. You dare defy me? Have you told your friends, dear Leorina, about how treacherous and brutal you can be?" The smoke cleared and a silhouette appeared, which steadily advanced until right in front of the group. What they saw was truly terrifying.

Garlen was mounted on a giant mecha; Leorina's eyes widened at the sheer size of it. Garlen had not been sitting on a control panel, he had been sitting in the mecha lying half buried in the ground all along, and she definitely hadn't expected this to happen. Klonoa could see that. The trio were subconsciously backing into a safe corner, arranged in a triangular formation.

"I can't... believe it..." Leorina gasped. "I can't... How the heck..."

"There are things that you don't know about in this world, Leorina!" Garlen shouted down. "You dared to defy me. The only punishment fit for you is death!" Hundreds of green pincers came flying towards the group as he ended the words. Guntz and Klonoa managed to jump clear, and Pango curled up on the ground; his scales deflected the pincers away. But Leorina had moved too late; two green pincers had grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and began dragging her over to the front of the machine.

"Leorina!" Guntz shouted, making the others look up towards the mecha. The girl was yelling and struggling, but the pincers were too strong. Guntz, in a desperate attempt to rescue her, aimed a shot at one of the pincers and fired. It was a terribly risky shot, as they were moving too fast, and the shot could have killed her instantly if it had missed - but he was still a brilliant marksman and hit the pincer dead on. It broke off, releasing Leorina; she fell down so suddenly that she slipped out of the other one and curled up on the ground, wincing. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah... I'm..." She responded, and then with an effort stood up and stumbled over to the hunter. "What the hell..."

There was no time for idle chat, however, as another set of pincers flew out of the mecha. Those ones were red, and didn't appear to drag the person caught in them to the machine but gave them a sharp pinch. Klonoa was throwing his boomerang around, defending himself against the red pincers; but one got through and pinched him sharply on the arm, and he lost his balance, toppling over with a cry. But he managed to catch the boomerang and crushed the pincer with its side nonetheless.

"The red ones aren't too dangerous!" He shouted over to the group. "Watch out for the green ones!" Those words were the only ones he could shout out before the mecha began advancing once more. He ran over to another corner of the hall. He couldn't get Leorina or anyone else caught up in the machine.

Or so he thought.

Another swarm came out of the mecha, this time green ones. Klonoa dodged out of their way, and Leorina jumped up to avoid them. Pango's scales caused the pincers to bounce off. Klonoa was expecting this swarm of pincers to just pass by and the red ones to attack, but this was not the case.

"No!" In the frenzy, Guntz had been caught and was being dragged over to the machine. The hunter was struggling, trying to free himself, but there was nothing he could do about his condition. The pincers dug into his skin, drawing blood, but the rest of the group were away elsewhere. He definitely couldn't risk shooting backwards at the pincers. So he stayed up there, struggling and failing to get out.

What he failed to notice, however, was that Klonoa was watching this about five feet away.

The cabbit stared up at the hunter; Pango and Leorina were aiming for the main body of the mecha at the other side of the hall and didn't see them. He was the only one who could save Guntz. His boomerang would automatically aim at the pincers and break them off. His fingers tightened on the weapon, but still he did not act - his eyes were fixed up at the hunter, who had been dragged to the front of the mecha, but he did not move.

He did not try to save Guntz.

"Why you-" Guntz snarled, twisting around to look at his back, where Garlen's gloating face stared at him. But he never finished the rest of his sentence; a sudden burst of concentrated energy shot out of the front of the mecha, illuminating the whole room in blue, and struck the hunter directly.

Klonoa gasped and dropped his boomerang, sinking to his knees. Guntz's head snapped back and he screamed out in excruciating pain, causing the other two members of the group to rush towards the front. They could do nothing for Guntz at the moment and merely stared. The torture lasted for no longer than three seconds, at the most; but it was enough to cause huge damage. After the beam faded away, Guntz hung limply in the pincers in a crucified position for a second. Then the pincers let go, and he free-fell to the ground, crashing to the floor.

"Guntz!" Pango cried out and ran over; from what the cabbit could see, the hunter's jacket was torn and burnt at the back. His neck was stained with blood, and the rest of his face was also; he didn't move and only lay limply in the armadillo's arms. His face was pale and bloodless, and for one horrible moment Klonoa thought that he was dead; but Guntz opened his eyes, blinking the blood out of his eyes, and then slowly raised himself up, looking shaken but not mortally wounded.

"Shit!" He managed to utter, grasping for his handguns. Pango did not seem to mind the profanity. He was merely glad that the hunter had gotten up, and supported him as he stood up.

"Guntz, are you all right? You're not going to be able to fight like that! Here, drink the potion-" Pango held up an orange bottle. "This will boost your special energy powers and heal your wounds. Or just make you unaware of them." Guntz nodded and gulped down the contents of the bottle. After a while he could stand up, and then with effort he thrust his arm into the backpack, bringing out the flamethrower and slinging it over his arm.

"Guntz, that's-"

"I don't care." He snarled. "The bastard is asking for it. He wants some, I'll let him _have_ some!" His eyes were wild and deranged now, the eyes of a madman, and Pango knew better than to interrupt him. Leorina stepped forwards, but the hunter was too enraged to be convinced to put down the weapon, and he jumped up to the mecha in one leap.

"Take that." He snarled softly and opened fire, scorching and melting the sheets of metal lining the mecha. Red pincers batted at him but the heat prevented them from approaching any closer to his skin. It was only when the mecha started to move again that Guntz jumped back towards the ground.

"You've done a lot of damage there." Leorina said, approaching Guntz and watching the machine's engines splutter in the corner. "Don't worry yourself too much about this anymore. Pango set up a timed bomb on the mecha. Within three minutes it'll go off."

"Are you sure you can't make it detonate faster?" Guntz yelled over the roar of the machine.

"It's counting down. What's wrong with it?"

"Because, Leorina, I _highly_ doubt that we have three minutes!"

"It's alright." Pango came over and showed him a remote, alike the one that he had earlier. "This'll make it detonate faster in an emergency. But we need time to let it set. If I set it off now the damage might be too weak." He looked over at Klonoa's direction, who was now standing a few feet away with his Wind Ring in his hand. "Klonoa, when the mecha charges at us, wait... and then fire. I'll detonate it then, if it doesn't by that time!"

"Right on, Pango!" The cabbit called. The machine was roaring towards them now, the sheets of metal on its side melted and twisted. Guntz's handiwork. Why had the cabbit not saved him? Why? Why hadn't he fired? Klonoa could have thrown his boomerang, he could have fired off one shot, just one shot, and it would have saved Guntz a lot of pain. But he'd just stood there and let the hunter be tortured. Klonoa raised his arm and took aim, thinking of the hunter and his deranged eyes, the blood, the burnt scars, the flamethrower and all the _blood _on the floor-

"Klonoa, what the_ hell _are you doing!" Guntz shouted. "Fire! Fire _now_! Or we all _die _here!"

Klonoa was jerked out of his chain of thoughts by the sudden shout. He looked wildly around him, and saw the mecha charge; instantly he knew that there was no time.

"Ruprudu!" He shouted, letting the Wind Bullet fly through the air; it struck home, shattering the glass window and created a typhoon strong enough to make the mecha go out of control. It spun wildly for a moment, and then the base exploded, leaving the mecha smouldering. It rolled over to its side and didn't move. None of the group made a move, as they weren't fully sure whether the inventor inside would come out or not. However as the minutes passed, it became apparent that he wasn't coming out. Ever.

"Alright!" Klonoa shouted, looking at the inactive mecha. He got out the Wind Sword and slashed the side of it; the mecha didn't move, and none of the lights came on. Satisfied, he sheathed the sword and turned to the group. "We did it!"

"Well done." Leorina looked breathless but she looked happy, truly happy. Her face was bright from the heat of battle. "You've finally done it! Garlen's gone now!"

Pango was checking the mecha also, but unlike Klonoa and Leorina he looked suspicious; Guntz was along with him, prodding the machinary, wondering if anything would emerge from it. "...I'm not sure if this thing is really... inactive now, Pango..."

"I don't know either. But we don't have any means to turn it over."

"Yeah..." Guntz still looked suspicious but backed away a little. "Let's stay away, Pango."

"That's the right thing to do, I suppose." Pango agreed. They both moved away and joined the other two.

"So is that thing inactive?"

"We think so." Pango replied. "There are no lights on and it's cold. That usually means that it isn't functioning, if it's on it should be hot or slightly warm at least. That mecha's ice cold and if Garlen hasn't made a move now, he probably won't."

"All right!" Leorina punched the air triumphantly. "Let's go back out. Then we can track down the Darkness of Nahato. After that we can go back!"

"Wait! What about Lolo?" Klonoa asked. "We have to rescue her. It's the reason we came here."

"Lolo... she's the priestess you were talking about, isn't she?" Leorina asked. Klonoa nodded. "Then we can search beyond this hall. It's not the whole of this floor. There's a laboratory outside that door-" She pointed towards the far end of the hall. "-and chances are that he keeps everything of importance there. I've seen plenty of those things."

"Laboratory?" Pango asked uncomfortably. "But doesn't that mean he conducts experiments on living beings?" Klonoa let out a horrified gasp, but the girl merely shook her head.

"I doubt it." She said. "Garlen's no expert on living things. He can only manipulate machines. Besides there must be reason he wanted a priestess. If he wanted to conduct an experiment he probably could have gotten anyone." Her theory made sense, but Klonoa was still unsure; Pango, on the other hand, was looking around.

"Guntz?" He called. "Guntz, where are you?"

"I'm here." Came the reply from the other end of the hall. He had already made his way towards the far end, but he just stood there, staring at something in front of him. He didn't move. "I'm here..."

"What happened?" Pango called, and began shuffling over to the other end also. Guntz slowly turned towards them, an unreadable expression on his face. He seemed at a loss at what to say to them, but finally managed to get two words out.

"It's locked."

* * *

"What?" Klonoa cried out despite himself and ran over to the door. "What do you mean it's locked?"

"I mean what I said." Guntz replied quietly. "Look at the gate." Klonoa looked; a golden gate was in the way, gleaming innocently in the light. He knew all too well what it meant - the silver and golden gates were always there, blocking the way towards their goal until they truly beat the villain responsible. The gate only unlocked with a key that they had to obtain.

"The key!" Klonoa turned wildly towards Pango. "Pango, we need the key!"

"There is none." Pango replied quietly.

"Because we never beat Garlen."

* * *

"_Precisely_!" A voice came from inside the mecha, which suddenly uprighted itself. The voice chilled them; Guntz froze, staring at the giant machine which had begun undergoing a transformation. The design had become more sleek, with no more black metal casing on the outside, but a orange-green colour with a giant pair of pincers.

"Quick! It's changing shape! Run for it!" Leorina shouted. "We _can't _fight this!"

Guntz pointed a shaking finger at the mecha. "Too late..." He gasped. "We're... we're_ done _for!"

The group moved much too late to save themselves; the mecha suddenly made a sharp turn towards the right, something blue and sticky coming out of its rear and dividing the room into half. The substance had hardened instantly, and before the group could react the mecha made another sharp turn, producing the same substance and locking the group inside a small area. Leorina, looking stunned, reached out with a shaking finger and touched the hardened wall.

"That's dreamstone paste." Leorina whispered. "Oh my-"

"I can't jump over it!" Klonoa was trying to break through the wall and failing. "I can't break it either... How the hell-"

"Save your breath," The girl yelled. "That's the hardest substance in the Moon. You'll never get through it!"

They were fully surrounded by the blue walls now, encased in a small quarter of the room; they had no means of getting through. Their danger was only truly realized when the mecha advanced on them, locking itself within the blue walls, with them, leaving them with about a few inches of space to move about, and Garlen's wicked eye gleaming through the window.

"Oh no." Leorina whispered.

And then the machine began to whirl.

The good thing about this was that it destroyed the walls, chipping bits off it as it went along, but it was close to slicing them into mincemeat. Not even Pango's explosives could stop the work, as the blades were moving too fast to take a good aim. Klonoa threw his boomerang in desperation, running away and backing against the walls for protection; this worked, as the boomerang struck the sides of the mecha without being destroyed by the blades. The mecha itself was not built to be very strong, relying heavily on the dreamstone paste and blades for its defence and attack, but that didn't mean that it wasn't dangerous.

The boomerang returned to Klonoa's hand and he prepared to throw it again, but the sharp edge of the mecha's blades cut him right across the cheek; blood spurted out and he fell on the ground, the weapon clattering to the floor out of his reach. He couldn't even cry out as the pain was much too overwhelming, and worse, no one seemed to be able to help him. The mecha stood between his companions and shut them out of sight.

'So this is the end.' He thought bitterly to himself.

What he didn't notice until later was the hunter jumping towards him. The mecha had moved away slightly and he took his chance to run towards Klonoa; but when the cabbit opened his eyes, Guntz merely stood above him, looking down flatly at his face and the blood on the floor. His eyes were bland and emotionless, as was the rest of his face. It _frightened_ Klonoa to see him like that, it frightened him to see Guntz doing nothing in the face of danger.

Then Guntz turned away, taking out his laser with a flourish, and opened fire.

This appeared to be too much for Garlen. He steered away, to the other corner of the quarter, but couldn't get through properly due to the hard walls. He was truly caught in his own trap. In desperation he steered the mecha right into the walls, again and again, until a corner broke off; but by then it was much too late. A laser shot hit dead on center and blasted the metal sheets apart, penetrating its engine. A giant explosion sounded, and thick smoke filled the air.

Klonoa coughed, trembling with fear and exhaustion, and tried to stand up. He couldn't. His knees had given way and he couldn't move. All the cabbit could do was the sit and watch with half-glazed eyes as the group ran back towards him, and the giant mecha fell over through the distant smoke and moved no more.

* * *

Christ...

I hate this chapter. It explains nothing except for the fact that Guntz and Klonoa are happy to let each other get tortured and/or suffer excruciating pain, and can watch during the process. Next chapter, I suspect, isn't going to be much better. Nahatomb. Urgh.


	9. Part One, Klonoa: Appeal

**Disclaimer: **What I said in the previous chapter in the 20th of December.

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry for the long wait.

This chapter is not horrible, at least nowhere near as horrible to write as the last one... this one doesn't have much going on. But it took me longer than the Garlen chapter for reasons unknown. It took me the entire holidays and then three days to finish a bloody chapter. Urgh.

Leorina oriented chappie here.

* * *

Nobody moved for a while.

The mecha began to glow brightly with a familiar light, eventually being broken up into chunks of dreamstones and gold bars. In the midst of the loot lay a small golden key, twinkling innocently in the hall lights through the thinning smoke. There was, curiously enough, no body; but none of them really cared at the moment. Guntz stepped forwards, taking the key in his hand, but didn't touch anything else and sat back down on the floor, eyes closed and exhausted.

Leorina was looking around the hall. "There's nobody here except for us." She called weakly. "Garlen... must have escaped through the smoke... He could never have survived the breakdown process otherwise..."

"Never mind." Pango said softly. "Never mind. He can't do anything now."

"So what do we do now?" Klonoa asked quietly. Nobody answered this, for they all seemed totally unsure of this question; but Pango stood up nonetheless, collecting up the dreamstones and gold bars before they vanished into thin air.

"We can't stay here." He said. "Garlen must have sided with Nahatomb. So we have to go to the Darkness of Nahato as quickly as possible, and find Lolo before that." He placed the loot on the ground again, dividing them up into four. "Everyone take a share. We have to share loads like this."

"Do you even reckon Lolo is alive?" Klonoa murmured. Everyone stared at him. "In an explosion like this... look-" He pointed to the ceiling, where an entire corner of it had crumbled into dust. "-if Leorina was right about the structure of this building, the aftershock might have-"

"Don't say such things." Leorina said briskly. "I know that I said the laboratory was beyond here, but it's strong. The walls were made to be thick. Besides, we're alive. Sure as hell doesn't explain why the others in the lab won't be." She scooped up her share and put it into a sack. "Let us go. We can't stay here."

"Wait." Guntz said softly. But nonetheless, the voice was filled with uncharacteristic hostility; she stopped dead in her tracks. "You need to give us an explanation. How do you know so much about this place? Garlen seems to know you as well. What's going on?"

Leorina said nothing for a full minute. "Now isn't the time." She replied finally, her voice subdued. "We must leave. I'll tell you everything after we look around the lab." Without another word she walked away, examining the golden gate.

"We should go." Guntz said also after a while, and stood up. Pango helped the cabbit up, and when the whole group had reached the golden gate, Guntz took out the key and twisted it around the keyhole. Instantly the key melted into thin air, and the gate vanished, leaving the pathway clear to the exit.

* * *

Leorina looked into the laboratory. "There is no one here." She confirmed. "Lolo, was it? She... isn't here. No." She kept on looking around, while Klonoa collapsed behind her in agony and hopelessness.

"We came too late, didn't we?" He whispered. "Lolo's done for."

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions." Leorina replied. She gestured at a shelf. "Look. Everywhere else is dusty. This part isn't." She demonstrated this by wiping off a countertop with her finger. But the space in the large storage shelf - it was a large, box-shaped space - was clean and pristine. "Something's been removed here recently. Klonoa, how tall is Lolo?"

"She's about five feet..."

"There you go." She gestured at the space. "That's about five feet two. Knowing Garlen, and his disregard of living beings, he'd have put her in a container - possibly even frozen her temporarily. We might have gotten her if we'd come a little... _earlier_..." Her eyes fell on the floor. "_Ah_. That explains a lot." There were footsteps among the dust, messed up and disoriented like someone had tried a desperate escape.

"Is that Garlen's footprint?" Pango looked closely at the marks. They were dusty, and very messy indeed - but he managed to find an almost whole one. "Yes. I recognize the marks. That's Garlen all right. He must have escaped through the lab when the whole room was in smoke, and possibly might have taken Lolo with him."

"So we should have chased him through the smoke." Klonoa whispered. "So close and we couldn't save her..."

"Garlen is close by." Guntz said softly. "I sense him. He's no more than a few miles away from us."

"You 'sense' him?" Pango asked, looking curious. "How can you 'sense' him?"

Guntz flushed at the words. "It's just a figure of speech." He replied somewhat irritably. "Only pure common sense. It's been less than ten minutes since we beat Garlen, he's not going to get very far in that kind of time." He changed the subject quickly. "Anyway, what gives? Any ideas what we should do?"

"We go after him, of course." Leorina said matter-of-factly and turned to them. "The Darkness of Nahato has been brewing in the east. I'll take you to the place."

"And then you go back." Pango said. "It's too dangerous. We've involved you too much already. It's too dangerous for a girl to be out there."

Leorina huffed. "Excuse me? Hell no, I'm staying with you. As I've told you, I've got a score to settle with him. I've been waiting much too long." She looked around at them, her eyes clear and determined. "I'm staying with you and that's_ that_."

"Leorina, it'll be safer if you allow us to handle this." Klonoa put in. "The people back there are waiting for you. You're too valuable to them, from what I've managed to hear back in the restaurant. It'll be better that way!"

The girl laughed somewhat half-heartedly. "Ah, young'uns are trying to lecture me." She sighed, and Klonoa couldn't help but giggle a little. "Under normal circumstances I would have had to back off like that. But no matter what you say, I'm staying here."

"Are you sure?" Klonoa asked again. "It's too dangerous..."

"Same goes for all of you." Leorina rebutted. "Besides, if you decide you'll send me back, I might as well go back now and leave you stranded. Think about it. Plus, I know about Garlen a lot, as Guntz very kindly pointed out a few minutes ago-" She nodded to him. "I might come in handy, don't you agree?"

In the end the group all had to agree about Leorina, and they set off for the Crimson Iris once more.

* * *

"I've put the Crimson Iris on autopilot." Leorina said as she returned from the head cabin. "I'd like to get some rest too... and talk to you, of course."

Guntz and Pango, who were sitting on the seats, nodded. Klonoa was looking out of the window, and he turned to her with a curious expression. Leorina sat down on a chair and leaned back, looking very, very tired for the first time they'd met her. "Guntz asked me why I knew so much about Garlen before. I'm about to tell you now, and the truth will probably make you want to chuck me out of the Crimson Iris. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you did that." She said, and then she lapsed into silence for about a minute, her head buried into her hands. Finally she looked up and faced them.

"I worked for Garlen. I was his private assistant."

This statement came as hollow in their ears, and they were completely unsure what to say about this; Leorina seemed to be bracing herself, but when nobody reacted she relaxed very slightly. "So... you aren't going to throw me out of the airship, then? Fine... I'll go on." She took a deep breath.

"I was first drawn into Garlen's world by pure chance. He was a renowned inventor that time. He didn't go by the name Garlen then. I've forgotten his original name - it hasn't been used for years now - but it was a mixture of different characters. Very feminine, if I remember right."

"Lambda?" Pango quietly offered. Leorina looked at him with surprise.

"Close." she said. "Very close. But I don't think anyone alive today will know his name. I was dragged into his office when he heard of my airship and my flying qualities. I thought it was wonderful - I mean, come on, I used to be a Sky Pirate, nobody's going to employ anyone of that profession, are they? - and I sided with him. He chose me out of about five hundred male aviators and pilots, because I was a girl, and according to him 'girls keep secrets'.' She made a face. "I don't know why I was so proud... For three years I worked with him."

"Go on." Guntz said. He seemed truly intrigued, being a hunter himself. "What made you change your mind?"

"His last great scheme." Leorina said with disgust. "During the first two years I'd worked with him I'd had some adoration for him at least. During the last year, though... he began to go really crazy. Garlen wasn't always insane. He came into contact with two other people that had wicked ambitions and apparently got the idea that he was powerful enough to rule Lunatea into his head. Those two people happened to be Janga and Joka - I mean, who else? Garlen's weakness is power. He'll do anything to get it. But I was still there. When I met those two people, and I heard of that plan, though..." Her face darkened. "That was when I began thinking that maybe it wasn't so great after all."

"You disobeyed him." Pango said.

"I did that much later. Garlen wanted to involve me in his plan as well. That is why I know about the Darkness of Nahato. I must admit that I was still new to all this. So I went along with it for the first half... but then when it came to me using my powers to control the five elements, I ran away."

"You can control the five elements?" Guntz asked, quite surprised. He winced as the hard back of the chair dug into his injured back and shifted positions a little. "But only accomplished priestesses can do that."

"I was a priestess before I became a Sky Pirate." Leorina said, although she seemed very reluctant to admit this. "I ran away because life was too horrible there. I really do feel sorry for Lolo, although I've never met her" Klonoa nodded. "I feel sorry for her, I truly do. If she isn't popular there she'll get nothing but years of hell. Imagine. Girl runs away from life of a priestess to become a hijacker." She laughed dully. "Nice."

"You've had a pretty rough life there." Guntz remarked, his face turned to the window. "But do the others on the Moon know about all this?"

Leorina stopped smiling. Her face fell and she quietly turned to the window, her silence speaking more than words.

"So what are you going to do when they find out?" The hunter asked again, looking seemingly indifferent. In fact, he seemed somewhat relieved that Leorina had turned away. "That's not going to stay secret for ever."

"Do you think I don't know that?" Leorina replied softly. "One day... maybe one day I'll tell them of my betrayal. Until I find Garlen..." She trailed off for a minute. "...my redemption is nowhere near complete. I want to help to save this world. I screwed it up quite badly before, so now I'm going to put it back again. And I'll do that by helping you." She turned to them, desperation written in her face. "I need your help. Please help me achieve this. Please let me help you all the way through."

There was no sound for a minute, except for the whirr of the engines.

"I'm glad you decided to share this with us." Pango broke the silence, and he was smiling. He even looked somewhat relieved and calm. "We will help you. Help us in return. Leorina, you don't seem like a bad girl; in fact you are very kind. After all this you won't have to feel guilty."

"Pango is right." Guntz added quietly. "Your past doesn't matter to us one little bit. We're helping each other and that's all we can hope for." He glanced at her. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still quite ticked at you for keeping that from us!" After saying this, he walked briskly out of the room, clearing his throat. He looked embarrassed at saying such things.

"That's translated as 'I'm glad you decided to tell us in the end'." Pango said. This was true, Klonoa and Leorina had to accept; Guntz was funny like that. However, Klonoa just had the nagging feeling that this wasn't right. Guntz had been acting oddly since they'd met Leorina - not oddly enough to be noticeable, but as for someone like Klonoa, who had sharp eyes and intuition, it was visible. The cabbit had no idea why the hunter was acting like such, and he certainly couldn't guess.

His mind idly flicked back two days ago. He had sworn not to forgive Guntz; or more accurately, he couldn't forgive the hunter - but now it just seemed dull, somehow unrealistic, and the cabbit almost wondered why he was hanging onto such a thing. After all, Janga had affected Guntz in his childhood. Guntz had played the game of vendetta perfectly in that sense. After all that he'd seen, Klonoa felt that the murder was nothing compared to it.

But then, if he forgave Guntz and let it go, he couldn't justify his actions in the battle.

He shouldn't have let Guntz get hurt. He really shouldn't have. As a Hero in training, that was unforgivable. Guntz was an associate, a companion... perhaps friend, if the hunter himself justified their relationship that way; and as a result, he should have protected the hunter. But he had done nothing, he had left the hunter be, watching him get tortured...

_No, _he told himself. _No, that wasn't right. Guntz didn't do anything to save me either! He stared at me for a long time, he did, and then he turned around to attack... but it wasn't for me, it was never for me, it was for total defeat..._

"We're here." Leorina broke his chain of thoughts as the airship lurched forwards. "The Crimson Iris is going to land. Hold on for five minutes and we're there." She rose and left, presumably to the control cabin. Klonoa turned and stared hard into the sky again.

He would wait.

Nahatomb had to be defeated first. He would work with Pango and Guntz for that. He would defeat Nahatomb, he would rescue Lolo... and then, if nothing had gone wrong, he would allow himself to forgive and forget.

It would work out.

Yes, it would.

* * *

Are you sure about that, Klonoa? (grin)

Girls are very stubborn. Leorina is. I certainly am. xD

I'm sorry this chapter was so late. Christmas was x.x, therefore urgh. I found myself spending time with my Wii and getting so little writing done.

Chapter Nine will come at February, I'm assuming. Battle scenes are so hard to write, and so many things happen in the battle against Nahatomb. Urgh. That boss took me _twenty-five minutes_ to beat even with all three heroes at maximum level and with the best weapons. Garlen took me _two minutes_ with the same conditions.

Ha...ha. x.x


	10. Part One, Klonoa: End Game

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the last chapter eighteen days ago.

**Author's Note:**

Ugh.

Just ugh.

This chapter was horrible to write.

Totally, totally horrible to write.

Nahatomb is never good.

* * *

The night sky was splayed out overhead, speckled with millions of glittering stars. The world of Lunatea was visible, shining dimly above them, and the silvery surface of the moon glowed pleasantly. It was almost as bright as day; but it was still night-time, and they knew that much.

The unusual turn of day and night was due to the disturbance of the Darkness of Nahato.

"It's so _bright_ here." Klonoa whispered, shielding his face and wincing. "What's going on?"

"The Darkness of Nahato." Pango murmured. "It's turned the whole concept of day and night upside down. So it thrives on night and it's dark by day." The surface of the corrupted land was pulsing, not enough to throw them off balance but an annoyance nonetheless. "Here we are... we enter the centre of it..." Pango pointed ahead, where the ground had turned a dark purple. The land carried on far ahead into the horizon.

"Guntz?" Leorina asked, looking into the hunter's face. He was staring straight ahead, his stare unmoving and very blank. "Are you feeling... all right?"

"He is here." The hunter answered, expressionless. "Garlen. He is here."

"He's here already? That was quick..." Leorina pressed, apparently not caring about the fact that Guntz realisticly had no means of knowing this. "Where?"

"...At the very centre." Guntz replied, sounding somewhat strange and quiet, but then a light of urgency entered his face. "And unless we hurry... he'll trigger the Darkness of Nahato and release Nahatomb. Let's go!" He began walking, with the other three following. He peered into the distance, saying nothing more; Klonoa watched him, wondering what would happen next. But then something caught his eye and he squinted - there was something large and black buried in the ground.

"Is that..." He started, but trailed off. He had no idea what it was; he could guess, but it was simply too dismal to imagine.

"...Nahatomb... the Hero?" Guntz murmured, looking at the same direction. Leorina flinched sharply away from it, glancing nervously at the object; but it didn't move nor do anything else. It simply stayed still.

"Is it... _alive_?" Klonoa murmured again.

"I don't know... I don't-" Guntz broke off sharply with a grimace on his face.. "Goddess Claire, this is actually making me feel _sick_! I'm sure this is the centre of the Darkness of Nahato, but I certainly don't know what the hell _that_ is..." It was true; there was a certain nauseous aura about the creature, and although none of them knew why, it was affecting them.

"First things first." Pango interrupted, although he looked nervous. "Where is Garlen? If Guntz was right he should be here now..."

"Pango!" Klonoa hissed, pointing to the right. Leorina looked and ran over, silently; the group followed, shielding behind a rock, and watched what was going on.

"Damn it... why... what are you doing?" A frustrated cry came from behind the object.

"Garlen! He made it after all." Leorina murmured.

"Why... aren't you obeying me?" Garlen was shouting now, along with some words that made little sense; Klonoa peeked out from the rock, seeing a container by the inventor's foot. He could not actually see Garlen, but he could very well guess what that container held. Cursing, he tried to dash out, but a cold hand gripped him by the wrist. Guntz was holding him, his eyes strangely blank once more.

"Wait." He said simply, and then let go, turning to the view again.

"Aren't nightmares enough for you? That should not be the case... they're - they're _dreams_! What does that make of me?" Garlen was ranting now, and had moved around to shout at the object. "Do you hear me, Nahatomb? Listen to me!"

Nothing happened, but then there came a frightful chuckle from the ground. Garlen flinched, backing away, which just seemed to amuse the voice more. "Foolish." The voice - deep, dark, and laced with a hint of a sneer - whispered. "Foolish... my child you may be... but incredibly foolish..."

Klonoa didn't know what to think anymore and just stared. Garlen had lost the power to speak, and he stared dumbstruck at the object, which had now begun moving.

"You sad, pathetic being... conceited and power-hungry, unaware of the true meaning of the Medal..." Nahatomb was speaking again, and his voice was dripping with contempt and sarcasm; yet at the same time, he sounded almost _sorry_ for Garlen.

"Shut - shut up!" Garlen barked. "I'm - I'm-!"

Nahatomb was rising from the ground, the black colour of his body fading away into gold and sinister purple. He was growing taller and now towered over the inventor. "I feel your dreams." He spoke again, and he sounded so unbelievably majestic and grand that nobody could move for a while. "And I feel your despair... it is certainly sad, only sad... you're nothing but a plaything in my eyes." Two insect-like eyes peered at Garlen, and a clawed had scooped him up in the air so suddenly that he squealed. "I will save you. I will save you from your despair, and your nightmares..."

"You talk nonsense!" Garlen managed to squeak out. "Nahatomb, you can't...!"

"You were led by the brightness of your Gold Medal, regardless of whether you were good or not," Nahatomb reached and tore off a small Medal, not unlike the ones that Guntz, Pango and Klonoa had, from Garlen's clothes. He dropped it onto the ground, near Klonoa's foot, where it glinted a bright gold. "so I will grant you salvation... disappear now, disappear into my dream... become a part of my dream, where you can rest eternally in peace..."

"Darn... you!" Garlen shouted, but then he cried out as his body matter began fading away. "I'm... the ruler... of the... world..." His voice faded away also, and no matter how much he struggled, it made no difference. He was transparent now, no more sounds coming from him; the group stared in horror as Garlen dissolved into thin air. Something blue faintly lingered in the air, and Nahatomb closed his hands over it, swallowing it whole. His body had fully transformed, and he settled down on a blue throne that had appeared out of nowhere.

"That was his soul!" Pango whispered. "He... took Garlen's soul!"

"Garlen..." Guntz murmured. "was taken into..." He did not finish his sentence, as he actually looked like he was going to be physically sick. Klonoa finished it for him.

"Nahatomb..."

"Welcome." Nahatomb bowed, turning to the group. "I am Nahatomb. I am the creator of all Hero Medals, and the owner of the Star Medal."

"The... Star Medal!" Klonoa breathed. "How..."

"Are you Heroes?" Nahatomb continued as if he had not heard. "Your Medals are not Gold yet - you have no Medal at all-" This was directed at Leorina. "-but were you still searching for the end of your quest and led by the brightness of your Medals? If that is so, that's still perfectly fine. You will fulfill my dream..."

"Fufill..._your_ dream?" Guntz repeated, looking blank.

"Led by the brightness of our Medals?" Pango repeated also, looking uncomprehending. "Nahatomb! What-"

"...I am Nahatomb." The creature continued. "I am the true, and only, hero in the world... I made the Hero Medals." He reached down to pick up Garlen's Medal, which had been lying on the ground. He turned it around and showed them. "They all imitate the Star Medal. They start out as grey, which stands for a Blank Medal." The Medal on his hand was no longer golden, but merely a dull grey colour; it had no owner to belong to now. "Then after achieving something for your dream, they turn into a Bronze Medal." The Medal instantly changed colour; Klonoa realized, with horror, that under Nahatomb's influence those Medals meant nothing. "Then they turn Silver... and then Gold." After the Medal flashed a deep golden colour, Nahatomb tossed the Medal away, which had become blank once more. "I made them to divide the world into two. Heroes... and the followers of Heroes."

"Heroes..." Klonoa murmured. "And the followers of Heroes?"

"Those who are followers give me dreams." Nahatomb explained, leaning back on his throne. "They call for me. They will use even nightmares to ask for me. I am their God." He paused, letting the meaning sink in. "Those who are Heroes-" He gestured to the three. "-they are the ones who collect dreams. More and more they progress, day by day... and that's shown by the colour of the medals. When the Gold Status is reached they seek for more. They come to me as a result. By that time their dreams are full with hope, which just happens to suit my taste."

"What?" Pango blurted out in horror. "That's - just..."

"What... are you saying..." Klonoa whispered. "That... those Medals... mean _nothing_?"

"As a whole they _mark_ you." Nahatomb replied calmly. "They record your progress. This world, and many others, are moved by dreams. It is the Heroes' duty to bear them. But it is, ultimately, _my_ duty-" He bowed again, making a grand gesture. "-to bear the Heroes."

"So you classify the people into each rank by the Medals..." Pango glanced at his own Medal, which glinted an innocent silver.

"Lead them into achieving whatever they want and then luring them here-" Leorina continued. She did not have a Hero Medal but had heard about them.

"-Knowing that they collect people's dreams, and theirs also... and lastly eating them." Guntz finished off, sounding ghastly calm although looking disgusted. "That's your idea, huh? Seems like a pretty desolate way to live."

"In the end you were pulling the strings behind us... only calling them Medals." Klonoa whispered.

"You are all my children." Nahatomb said indifferently. "You were led to the Hero Medals by choice. You collect dreams - bright as gold each time - and give them to me." He bowed his head again. "I ask you again. Are you Heroes? Or are you the followers of Heroes?"

"You pretend to be God." Pango said with obvious contempt and disgust. "Although you were sealed in the Moon... again and again... you pretended to be someone who you were not!"

"There is only one God, Nahatomb, and that is the Goddess Claire." Leorina spoke out bravely. The creature flinched a little at the words, but then regained his posture again.

"You see how pathetic people are." He said calmly. "_I_ exist. You see me before you. Claire, however, does _not_ exist in this world! I am the only one truly worth of worship!"

"Sure. Collecting nightmares and making yourself into a worshipped entity!" Guntz sneered. "Garlen was _adorable _compared to you."

"Say whatever you wish. You cannot deny me. Heroes or followers you may be; but in the end they are all mine!"

"No!" Klonoa jumped up. "You're wrong! Heroes are not like that! We don't become Heroes for someone!" He took a deep breath. "We don't... we don't become Heroes so we can be worshipped and demand dreams! That's wrong!"

"Why are you Heroes, then?" Nahatomb asked directly. "You do not want dreams, let us say; then why are you Heroes?" Klonoa knew the answer to that instantly.

"We become Heroes because we want to fulfill our dreams... no, we want to_ continue_ fulfilling dreams!" He shouted. "To go forward... to stand up every time you fall down, and help each other up... To be courageous enough to fulfill dreams... that's why Heroes exist! Not because of anyone else!"

The other three stared at the cabbit, a slow but new-found realization awakening in their eyes. Nahatomb was tragically wrong; and they _could_ prove it, they could prove it well. However, the creature merely laughed cruelly.

"Sad..." He sneered. "You are all marionettes, all of you, dancing in my hand... But you still deny me. I must respect you for your courage, as wasted as it is." He seemed truly respectful, although cynically amused. "Since as your dreams have so much power... your dreams will do fine for me and my powers also. I shall make your dreams into part of my power." He looked up into the sky. "There is only one Hero... only one true Hero... and I shall prove it to you!"

* * *

For a second or so nothing happened. Nahatomb stayed where he was, contrasted to the previous enemies they had fought, who had all transformed in one way or another; but orbs of light began to appear suddenly all around them. Leorina swiftly took a set of throwing knives from her belt, ready to retaliate and slow down the orbs of light if needed; but the light faded and Moos fell out of them, onto the ground, where they immediately began searching for food.

"_Moos_?" She blurted out. "Is he serious?"

"I would advise you to be careful if you intend to challenge me." Nahatomb rose from his throne and clapped his hands. Instantly his form faded to a near-transparent state, and the Moos all turned to face them, their strangely blank eyes filled with hate. "After all... those Moos are nothing like the ones you've ever seen!" With the remark he was completely gone, and the Moos charged.

"Look out!" Leorina threw her knives at the Moos and dived out of the way, taking the three with her weight; the knives hit their mark, and they slowed down the Moos, but they did not burst nor fall down. They simply carried on after a pause, which was unlike the animals they'd ever encountered before. They were stronger, not even close to the Moos they had passed by before. The four hesitated, not knowing what to do next. The knives had disoriented the Moos, and they were coming in wild zigzags - as a result no one knew where to attack.

"Klonoa!" Pango suddenly shouted, "Behind you! Get out of the way!"

"What-" Klonoa didn't get a chance to finish, as Guntz had roughly grabbed him and pulled him back. When Klonoa looked up, he saw something, its colour a loathing purplish-black, pulsing on the ground. This did not surprise him too much, although it was unpleasant; but when he moved a step, the object followed him like a shadow. Suddenly it shot up onto the ground again, knocking Klonoa away, reforming into Nahatomb sitting calmly on his throne.

"Not bad." He said softly. "Not too bad." He clapped his hands just as the Moos were getting ready to swipe at the four; they disappeared, and blue orbs of light appeared this time. Out of them fell Bouncing Moos, and they immediately began to bounce towards them with alarming speed.

"Whoa!" Klonoa dodged out of the way and brought down his boomerang onto a Moo. It squawked unpleasantly and bounced far away from him. "Oh, Pango, this is hopeless!"

"Ah, but he isn't a match for us." Pango smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "Look at your Medal, Klonoa."

Klonoa looked down; the previously Bronze Medal now shone a triumphant silver. "That was some speech you did back there. You felt it in your heart. And I daresay we all did too." Pango smiled. "The Medal is not a mere mark, as Nahatomb thinks." He took out the pin from a grenade, and then threw it far ahead.

"Everyone, stop! Seven seconds and it blows!"

"Why seven?" Guntz shouted from a corner, throwing off a bouncing Moo. "Oh Godde-" He ran towards the whole group and then ducked as the bomb went off. A thick cloud of smoke spread through the land, but this did nothing to hinder the four; they darted out, each securing a corner. They had learned not to hesitate in such situations.

When the smoke cleared, all the Moos were gone. Nahatomb was nowhere to be seen. No purple shadow lingered this time anywhere, which meant he wasn't hiding beneath the ground. They looked around carefully, still not believing that the creature would have vaporized with just that one bomb.

"Is that..." Leorina muttered. "..._it_?"

"I doubt that..." Guntz answered, glancing around. "He can't have gone far if he ran."

Klonoa and Pango said nothing but merely raised their weapons. This proved to be a very safe bet, as the ground below Guntz began to shake; and just as the hunter threw himself out of the way, Nahatomb emerged calmly from the ground.

"You are all undoubtly skilled." He said quietly. "I respect you for that."

"Is that all you can come up with, Nahatomb?" Klonoa shouted. "Stop trying to play games with us. We'll take whatever you throw at us; you cannot win!"

"A young, fiery spirit you are..." Nahatomb merely continued. "You shall all prove satisfactory when you form my dream."

Guntz raised his head to the sky and closed his eyes, staying like such for the whole conversation. Pango glanced at him with concern.

"Guntz?"

"They're coming to help us." The hunter whispered, and his eyes flew open. "They're coming to help us!"

"Who? What are you-" Leorina was cut short when Klonoa, Guntz and Pango's Medals began glowing. In an instant they had turned a beautiful golden colour, although why they did not know; Guntz stared down at his Medal blankly, as if he only half understood, but when he looked up at Nahatomb his eyes were filled with an unnatural fire.

"Our loved ones." He stated. "They're the ones who are helping us, whether they are dead, alive or incapitated! You failed, Nahatomb. _They_ did not succumb to your nightmares. They are still down there, dreaming and hoping for a miracle, forever believing in us!" His hands clenched on the pistols. "Come then, Nahatomb! Fight us!"

Nahatomb opened his insect-like eyes, looking at them with a piercing glare.

"Now," He snarled. "You challenge me."

He reared his head, and his gaze stopped on the body of a little priestess lying on the ground. Grinning, he reached out towards her.

"No!" Klonoa shouted, realizing too late what would happen. "You can't! No!" He aimed a Wind Bullet at the creature, firing three consecutive shots - but alas, they all missed. Cursing, he ran towards the creature to try to stop him, save Lolo-

But it was still too late. Nahatomb outstretched his hand towards the girl, and something vaguely resembling a vapour cloud came out from her heart. Nahatomb drew away, letting the vapour form itself into a glowing sphere, and swallowed it.

Two things happened instantly. The four gasped in horror, while Lolo's eyes flew open. She made no sound, but merely spasmed for a second, before she sank back down on the ground, motionless. In an instant she had met the same fate as Garlen, as Nahatomb devoured her soul; and the four knew that there was no saving her now.

* * *

"_Bastard_!" Guntz shouted as hard as he could, as Nahatomb let out a cackle and flew into the air. "You _bastard_! You ought to die!"

Nahatomb merely bellowed with laughter. "You may take me down, Heroes, you may win - but you will never revive her! You'll never bring her back!" With another ghastly laugh, his shape began to distort into an oddly spherical, but even more repulsive form. The ground turned pitch black, along with the sky, and suddenly they were standing in total darkness. The only light came from Nahatomb, who screeched and began to shoot flames from its mouth. It had dived below them into an abyss, where they could not attack it; but _it_ was just fine where it was.

"We can't fight in this dark!" Pango shouted. "Quick, take shelter!"

The whole group obeyed and took shelter beside a large rock, noting their advantage - they could not see the creature, but Nahatomb could not see them either. "We must think of something." Guntz stated, although he looked pained to say this. "Any more of this and we _all_ die."

"There's only one other thing that might stop Nahatomb." Leorina murmured. "But-"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Guntz asked, sounding urgent.

"_You_ can't use it. It'll kill you."

"Well, can you use it?" Klonoa asked; Leorina nodded, her face pale. "Then use it now. Please!"

"I can't." Her voice wavered and she shook her head. "I _can't_! I don't deserve to use it!" Holding back tears, she reached in her pockets and brought out two round objects. They glowed faintly within themselves, but other than that, did nothing. The three others stared at the objects for a minute before Klonoa gasped.

"Leorina, they're the elements!"

"Yes." She cried. "Yes, I admit it. I was selfish. I stole them out of the towers of Indecision and Discord ages ago." She sniffed. "Look at them. They're not bright anymore. They don't have their powers anymore because they've been with me so long. Mira-Mira and Volk is falling apart, and the elements are losing their power... all because of me!"

Nobody said anything, but looked dismayed; Guntz, however, stood up and looked into the distance where the monster was roaring.

"Let's go." He said quietly.

"But..." Leorina whispered, looking nervously at him. "But how can we defeat him? We can't fight _that_!"

"Our Medals aren't Gold for nothing." He replied briskly, and then drew out his laser. "I want you all to promise that if I die in this battle, you will bury me near Jugkettle. There's a cemetery there. The owner should know where to bury me when you tell him who I am. This applies only if there's any body to take back, of course." The hunter smiled bitterly, and then without another word leapt out from behind the rock, neatly dodging a flame attack.

"Here I am, Nahatomb!" He shouted. "Come and get me!" His eyes were crazed and almost insane, his speech pattern changed; that only happened when he was overly excited or in an otherwise deranged state. Klonoa looked at the hunter, confused and not knowing what to do. Right now Guntz was little more than a madman; but without aid, wouldn't he die? Surely Klonoa owed him something, after all the hunter had done and suffered-

Pango suddenly whirled around, looking around their surroundings. "Do you hear something?"

"Hear what?" Klonoa asked, but then his question was answered as the whole area suddenly fell into absolute silence. Nahatomb reared his head below them, seemingly hating the silence; but for the four it was oddly soothing.

"Klonoa, don't worry!" A bright, somehow famillar voice called to the young boy out of nowhere. Klonoa gasped, looking above.

"Chipple?" He whispered. "Chipple, is that you? What... how?"

"It's all right." Chipple's voice continued. "You're doing your best, so we will do our best as well..."

"We'll protect Lolo!" Popka's voice butted in. It was only then Klonoa realized that the nightmare-stricken ones back in Lunatea were talking to them via the waves.

"Popka... Chipple... You're safe...!" Klonoa whispered.

"And don't you worry about us either, Master Klonoa!" Another soft voice called. "Mama and I will do everything we can! So be sure to win!"

A motherly voice joined in. "Even if my life is forfeit... we will return the kindness you showed us!"

"Karal and Pamela!" Guntz exclaimed, although he had stayed unusually silent through the whole exchange so far. "You... remembered us!"

"Indeed, Master Guntz!" Karal giggled. "How could we forget you?"

"And you shall not find me ungrateful either!" The gruff voice of Diglo, from the Moon's Ruins, called. "This time... for sure...!"

"I'm not going to die until Lephise's concert!" Balue's voice was heard from a corner, making Klonoa laugh despite the situation.

Klonoa and Guntz looked around, spellbound, as voices - some that were new, some that they had heard before called out to them. Even Pango and Leorina, who had no idea who all the voices belonged to, were listening to the encouragements with a smile. They had truly forgotten about Nahatomb now.

"Nightmares are also dreams." The High Priestess's voice rang out loud and clear to the four. "and I shall bundle everyone's dreams and protect Lolo. It is my duty as a priestess. It is the only real help we can give you now; the rest is up to you, the Heroes!"

"Oh my..." Leorina gasped, hand over her mouth. "The High Priestess...! Why now, even with all my shortcomings..."

"You were forgiven a long time ago." The voice replied softly. "Do your best now, Leo... Goddess Claire be with you always..."

"Everyone... even the High Priestess..." Pango murmured. "What... is this feeling? Can you all-"

"I'm not losing, Papa!" A quiet, but nonetheless brave voice, called out and cut Pango short. "Hold on... keep going!"

"Boris...?" The armadillo whispered, but then his eyes widened. "Boris..._ Boris_! Where are you? Are you all right?"

"I'm here, Papa! And so's everyone else!"

Klonoa looked up to the heavens and closed his eyes. They were all here now, they were with them and he felt truly comfortable for the first time in weeks. He wished hard for one more, just one more person to speak out to him, and he would then have courage.

"Klonoa." As if on cue, his grandfather's voice called softly to him. "Don't waver. Don't look back. Just go straight on."

"Yes, Grandpa!"

They were surrounded by voices, endless streams of voices, calling to them, encouraging them right to the end. The force of those voices brought along light; beautiful, god-sent light, shining from the heavens. It glowed a pale white, bathing them in soothing warmth. Nahatomb shrieked and roared, shrinking away from the endless abyss of light, but not one of them noticed. The four looked up into the air.

Guntz uttered a soft gasp, and his hands went to his chest, where something was glowing. Klonoa and Pango held identical orbs of light near their chests, and they looked down, mystified; Leorina's hands were glowing and she grasped the two elements tightly in them, feeling a warm rush of power within her. This triggered something in all four of them; for a moment they were surrounded by divine light, and their Medals shone with the brightness of a star.

This lasted only a moment, but in that instant they were divine and invincible. They settled back onto the ground, where Nahatomb lay groaning in pain.

"Take this!" Klonoa shouted, and the three ran towards the creature, each plunging a final attack into him. Nahatomb flailed about, screaming in pain and anger, but the three felt nothing. The creature's struggles were futile next to them. Leorina ran towards them, still clutching the elements tight.

"Farewell." She whispered, and she brought them down on the creature.

All went white.

* * *

When the world returned to normal, there was only silence. The voices had faded away, and there was nothing to be heard.

The first thing Klonoa knew was that it was cold.

The wind was blowing in their eyes. Klonoa shook his headfur out of his eyes and looked around. Nahatomb was gone; there was no sign of him, and the land was a brilliant silver once more. He knew that Nahatomb was gone now, for ever, and managed a smile.

"We did it." He murmured. "We did it! We got rid of him!"

He heard a small groan come from next to him. Guntz was stirring and he sat up, looking dazed; but his eyes regained the usual spark in a second and he looked around, alert. The wind whipped around his face, his loose hair swirling, and Klonoa was momentarily struck by how beautiful the image was. Guntz had done it, they had all defeated Nahatomb. Klonoa felt the long-forgotten sense of pride for the hunter return slowly to his mind. He could allow himself, now, to forgive. It would be eventual, and slow... but he could still forget and forgive him. He was close. They'd done this together and Klonoa could not forget that for the world.

Pango and Leorina got up also, and looked for their two companions. Silently, they went over to them and smiled tiredly; but they did nothing else. They were far too exhausted for that.

"Lolo..." Klonoa murmured. "Lolo... she's... safe?"

"Where is she?" Pango looked around, his hand resting on a soft arm; he waved the dust clouds away and looked. "Ah, here she is, Klonoa..." The cabbit jogged over, looking over at Lolo. She lay very still and very silent, her eyes unflickering.

"Shouldn't she be... waking up now?" Leorina murmured.

"Nahatomb devoured her soul." Pango replied sadly. "Even though he's gone... I find it incredibly difficult to imagine that she will wake up soon, if even at all."

Klonoa closed his eyes. He had expected it, yes; but the thought dismayed him even so. He had come this far, he had gained a Gold Medal and with the help of three companions, he had beaten Nahatomb for ever. Surely there was a way to save Lolo?

When he looked at her more carefully, however, his hopes were shattered.

Lolo lay very still, only her hair fluttering in the wind. Her face was pale and blank, her body limp and unmoving. She looked dead; she seemed dead on all accounts. He bit his lip lightly to stop himself from showing his emotions; Pango noticed and silently laid a hand on his shoulder.

"We couldn't... help her..."

"Don't despair." Guntz murmured softly. He was checking her pulse. "She's breathing and her pulse is there. She's still alive."

"But she's-" Klonoa couldn't find the words to describe it. Lolo was soulless, and what did that make her? What were soulless beings called? Ghosts? A shell of a person? Was she even going to wake up? He didn't want to know; but it was Lolo, she was his friend, and he had a duty to protect her.

Yet he didn't know how.

"Can you use the elements to revive her, Leorina?" He asked. The girl shook her head. "She's not a full priestess, I know, but you aren't one either - and you can still use them!"

"They're too powerful to use on a person." Leorina murmured. "It's bad enough trying to _handle_ them. She might take it well because she's still a priestess, but those elements represent Discord and Indecision. Nothing that can possibly revive her. And even if they _did_ revive her, the qualities of the elements are going to leave traces on her mind. She's going to be a changed person."

Klonoa said nothing. Not even the elements could help Lolo now. That was his last hope dead and gone.

Guntz was searching through her pockets. This was hardly an act to bestow upon a girl, but right now Klonoa was so downhearted that he couldn't care less. He absent-mindedly looked at the Medal on his chest; it had turned back to Silver, perhaps because the Gold Status was only gained to fight Nahatomb. This did not worry him; the Medal occasionally flicked a golden colour, as if trying to change its status, and besides if he couldn't rescue Lolo there was no point in having a Hero medal.

"Hmm..." Guntz brought out something and pushed back a lock of his hair, peering at it. "This... flower... Could it be?"

"What?" Klonoa looked at the object. It was a little pink flower, pristine and well kept. Guntz held it out and the cabbit took it. "It's the Hikari Sakura! I gave this to her ages ago, how could she have kept it all this time?"

Pango drew a sharp breath. "Hikari Sakura? Isn't that the very first bloom of the spring season?"

"I gave it to her as a present." Klonoa said, quickly stealing a look at the hunter. Guntz knew, he could see it; it was the very flower he had taken by force and later had to return to the boy. He did not say anything, but Klonoa knew that Guntz was aware of this.

"But the Hikari Sakura doesn't even bloom in Lunatea." Leorina interrupted. "That was what made it so special, wasn't it?"

"Yes." Klonoa replied quietly, and he set the flower down on Lolo's chest. "Poor Lolo..." He closed his eyes and buried his face into his hands, trying not to sob; he was strong, he had come this far... he couldn't break down, not here, not now...

"H-hey!" Guntz suddenly exclaimed, causing the cabbit to look up. "Klonoa, the flower!"

"What?" He looked at Lolo, and what he saw rendered him temporarily speechless.

The Hikari Sakura was beginning to bloom, opening wide, enveloping Lolo in a gentle, soft light that merely lasted a second or so. When the light faded, the Hikari Sakura had opened wide, its scent sweet and fresh; and the girl slowly opened her eyes, blinking.

"Hello." She whispered, slightly dazed but smiling. "That was a really... good dream..." She looked at Klonoa, who looked dumbstruck. "Klonoa? Where did you come from? Where am I?"

"Lolo...!" The cabbit cried, locking her in an embrace. "Oh, Lolo! You're safe!"

"I was always safe, silly!" She giggled, and looked around the three others. "Where am I? Who are you? What happened?"

"We'll explain when we're back aboard." Leorina grinned tiredly. "This had been a really long day, you know... we all deserve a rest..."

* * *

Urgh.

The last truly long horrid chapter done.

I had to make up Nahatomb's bit for the latter part. I just couldn't face trying to beat him for half an hour. Nahatomb must be the hardest boss to beat in game history, ever. Not even the Last Boss from Sonic and the Secret Rings (known for the notorious missions and confusing bosses) takes me half an hour.

Jesus Christ.

The Klonoa Part will end next chapter. And because I wrote the ending down before I was writing Ch.4, that one will come fast. Really fast.

5699 words for a chapter, indeed. Nice. xD


	11. Part One, Klonoa: Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the previous chapter about four days ago.

**Author's Note:** That's right. It took me two weeks and a little more to write the last chapter, but it took me four days to write and finish this one. What fun. It's due to the fact that I'd already started writing this chapter when Kaleidoscope saw its fourth chapter. So I had a long time to work on it.

Heheh.

The Klonoa Part officially ends with this chapter. We find out more secrets, more relationships, and surprisingly... more deaths.

* * *

"So that was what happened." Lolo murmured after a long silence, onboard the rocket. "Garlen told me... that only priestesses were pure-hearted enough for the ritual. I didn't know what he was talking about, but it seems that my question is answered." She smiled. "I can't thank you enough for saving me."

"Don't mention it, Lolo." Leorina said, grinning happily.

"We would have done the same for anyone." Pango said, face flushed from the compliment. "You're a lovely girl. I'm glad you're safe."

Klonoa gave her an affectionate glance, which said enough for both of them. Guntz had said very little for the journey, but looked out of the window, looking very pensive.

"Mr... Guntz?" Lolo asked tentatively, glancing at the hunter. Guntz looked around casually, his eyes resting for a long while on her face. Lolo looked uneasy, but not frightened; nothing could frighten her now, what with all the events she had gone through. His eyes found hers.

"No one's called me that before." He finally said, a faint note of surprise in his voice. "That was unexpected, Lolo." He chuckled gently as the girl looked embarassed. "Don't worry. I'm not offended - and I apologize if I've offended you. I'm not too social in general." He was suddenly very relaxed in her presence, and Lolo breathed again.

The hunter was... a good person, she decided. Rather strange and eccentric at first glance, but good.

"We're at Volk." Pango interrupted her thoughts, as he glanced at the window. Leorina sighed ('_Finally_!') and ran out of the cabin, ready to prepare for landing. "My house is nearby. Lolo, do you still have the flower?"

"I have it here." The flower was kept in pristine condition, and she felt it through her pocket. Pango nodded.

"I need to go to my house... and awaken Boris, if you would lend me the flower for a while." He said, a small note of urgency in his voice. "He's been with the sickness for months."

"We'll go with you." Klonoa said. Guntz and Lolo both nodded. Leorina, who had been manipulating the rocket controls for the past few minutes, came into the cabin and smiled at the armadillo.

"We're landing in Volk now. Put your seatbelts on. It's going to be rocky." She said, strapping herself in. The others did the same. "So you still have business to do in Volk, is that correct, Pango? That's fine. Your son... how bad was he when you last saw him?"

"Very bad." Pango murmured sadly. "Very, very bad. He wouldn't stir or move around. He just _lay_ there." He momentarily stopped speaking and let out a small exclamation of surprise as the rocket landed with a crash. "And I left him there for weeks now... Let us go. We have little time to waste."

"I'm leaving the Crimson Iris here." Leorina said as they all undid their seatbelts and dismounted the rocket. "I don't think it can land anywhere near Breezegale. Besides it's too well known."

"Understood." Guntz said curtly, nodding. "Pango's son is first priority here. After that we return to Breezegale." He seemed unusually eager to get out from Volk and to Breezegale, but in their hurry, no one noticed this.

"Would the Hikari Sakura heal Boris?" Lolo asked, as they hurried to Pango's house. It was close to the Rocket Base and the armadillo knew all the shortcuts, so they could all go quickly.

"It must." Pango muttered, fumbling for a key and inserting it into the lock. "It must, it simply _must_..." He threw open the door and ran inside, leaving the others to follow him. He ran straight into the bedroom, whilst the others took a bit more time; they took in the details of the house as they passed by. The house was old, but still sturdy. It was a large house, spacious and almost bleak for two people to live in, but the ornaments and the general layout convinced them that it was a homely house once everything was cleaned up. The house had been left for 'weeks' now, after all. The walls were a pleasant orange, matching Pango's own colour well. Guntz noticed out of a corner of his eye that there was a small room, with no door, that seemed to be a workshop of some sort. It was cluttered with many tools that he didn't know the names of. He usually hated orange colour schemes, but Pango's house was wonderful, he had to admit. There just needed to be more light.

"Quickly!" Pango cried from above, and they ran upstairs, Lolo leading the way. During that time the armadillo had gotten a basin full of water, wiping his son's forehead with a soaked cloth.

"Boris, my son..." He was murmuring. "I'm back... I'm so sorry I left you alone for so long... you _must_ wake up now, Boris, you _must_! I love you, son... I love you..." He appeared to be half crazed with worry, his voice breaking. When they looked at the young boy lying on the bed, however, they could understand why.

Boris, an exact copy of his father, lay on the bed, his face pale and very blank. He didn't move. Only the slight heaving of his chest convinced them that he was alive. He was obviously very young, very vulnerable and ill. Lolo silently came forwards, holding the flower.

"The Hikari Sakura, sir." She said softly, handing it out to the armadillo. Pango took it gently from her hands and laid it on his son's chest, folding his hands and murmuring a soft prayer in Native Volk. Guntz's ear twitched at the words and he listened intently.

"Guntz?" Leorina asked quietly.

The hunter said nothing but joined Pango, closing his eyes. He did not disturb the armadillo, but when the older man stopped praying, he took over and said a few words, continuing the last lines of the prayer.

"It's not his time yet." Guntz said quietly after a slight silence. "He will awaken."

"How can you be so sure?" Pango asked him, but the hunter merely shook his head. He downcast his head towards his son once more. "Boris... Boris, can you hear me?"

The boy did nothing for a long while, then suddenly shifted and coughed.

He _breathed_.

Slowly, very slowly, his features were beginning to soften and regain colour. The paleness was gone from the boy's skin, the bland look being replaced with a calmer, but nevertheless full, expression. As the others watched, half alarmed, he slowly opened his eyes - still tired with sleep - and blinked faintly.

"Dad...?" He murmured. "What... happened?" He yawned softly as if nothing had happened, and looked around. "What's going on...?"

"Boris! Oh, Boris!" Pango cried, throwing his arms around the young boy and holding him tight. "You're safe!"

"Did something happen when I was asleep?" Boris asked, oblivious to the danger he had been in, and smiled. He was a bright young lad, with surprisingly light brown eyes for an armadillo and wearing blue work clothes as opposed to his father's green ones. He looked at the others, and blinked again, confused.

"You were in a very deep sleep." Lolo explained softly. "And your father was worried about you. But don't you worry. You're going to be all right."

"This is Lolo, Guntz, Klonoa and Leorina, my son..." Pango said, introducing everyone. Everyone either nodded or gave some sign of recognition at their name. Guntz bowed his head quietly, looking at the boy and then delicately looking away. Boris looked around all of them before smiling. "They helped me through everything. You were asleep for a long, long time. I thought you would never awake."

"I remember something... I think," Boris replied, looking thoughtful. "There was darkness... and you were all there... and I called out to you. I don't exactly know why, but I called out to you and you answered me... it was a strange dream..."

"It was not so much of a dream, Boris." Klonoa said gently. "You'll understand later."

"You're all really nice." Boris giggled. "I'm happy to meet you!"

Further conversation was interrupted, however, when the sound of the front door opening in the hall rang out through the house.

"Who's that?" Guntz said sharply, turning around. "Are you expecting anyone, Pango? Or Boris?"

Pango had a somewhat distracted and lost expression on his face; he listened, looking blankly ahead for a second, but then he suddenly chuckled. "Why, isn't that young Suiryu!" He exclaimed.

"Suiryu? Really?" Boris asked excitedly, and without waiting for a reply jumped up from the bed, running out of the door. The footsteps were closer now, and they had reached the end of the hallway when the boy ran out.

"Suiryu!" Boris cried as he threw himself into the stranger's arms. The man blinked, holding onto him. "Oh, Suiryu! You're back!"

"Nice seeing you back, Suiryu." Pango said as he emerged, laughing. "Were you checking up on him?"

"What-" Suiryu murmured, confused, looking at Boris and then back to Pango. "Boris? Pango? You're back? He's awake-" His eyes widened. "Pango, he's _awake_? What happened? What's going on? Who are all those people?"

"I need to explain everything, don't I?" Pango laughed, scratching his head. "Basically, I went on a journey, met three people who aided me and became heroes; and then I found a cure for Boris. that's about as simply as I can put it."

"You'd better start from the beginning, Pango." Suiryu said weakly, still looking rather uncomprehending. He sat down on the floor, holding Boris. "Tell me every... thing..." His gaze stopped on Guntz, who had stayed very silent all this time and almost seemed to be trying to melt into the surroundings.

"...Guntz?" He whispered. "_Shinigami Guntz_?"

"Good afternoon." The hunter drawled. "Long time no see, Officer Suiryu. It's been what, ten years now?"

Pango looked at the hunter, confused. "You know Suiryu, Guntz?"

"We happen to be of a close association. We were both born in Volk, when it used to be a quiet village." Guntz answered lightly, smiling. "I still remember, Suiryu. You used to come over for dinner sometimes... good times they were..."

"Dinner?" Leorina questioned. "Just when was this?"

"He was young, dear lady." Suiryu answered. "We have a twelve-year age difference. Our famillies used to be closely associated."

"Considering our jobs and the way they're polar opposites, you would have thought that we would rather have been enemies." Guntz added on.

"Shame about Butz, though." Suiryu murmured, sounding sorry for the youth. "It all changed when that happened. I've been getting reports of you in the news. That's how I kept up with your progress, although I had no idea where you always were." He suddenly looked strict, his gaze hardening. "Considering I've been the officer in charge for most of your misdoings..."

"I know. Friend becomes a fugitive. Imagine!" Guntz laughed. "If you intend to capture me, Suiryu, then do go ahead. I would like to see how you improved over the years. Tell me that you aren't chaining yourself with the handcuffs anymore."

Suiryu blushed deeply. "You just don't forget, do you? I have no intention of capturing you right now. Whatever happened, I do not know; but you aided Pango and Boris along with those two people-" He bowed softly at them. "-and that's an honourable thing to do."

"Very nice of you."

"Don't expect to get lucky next time, though." Suiryu said, winking mischieviously. Guntz smirked, and then the older man turned to the other four.

"I apologize for my rudeness." He said. "I should make a formal introduction; my name is Suiryu, and I'm Captain of the Volk Police Force. I'm a Volkian, like this particular young fellow here." He gestured to Guntz. "I'm pleased to meet you."

"And we're pleased to meet you as well." Klonoa spoke up. "My name is Klonoa, and I'm from Breezegale..."

"I'm Lolo. I'm a priestess-in-training."

"I'm Leorina, currently looking for a new job. Prior to today, I was a Freedom fighter."

Suiryu blinked. "Freedom fighter? You were working against Garlen, I believe?"

"Too right. We've just managed to stop his schemes." Leorina said simply.

"I'll have to explain, I suppose, when I get back from Breezegale." Pango said quickly. "It's a long story. Can you stay with Boris for a few hours until I return?"

"Of course. In fact, I have a better idea." Suiryu said. "You're all worthy of an award, considering Garlen and the threat he posed to this world. Breezegale is not far away from here." He looked up into the ceiling, thinking hard. "The fastest way would be the ferry... Catch one from Jugkettle, and you'll be there in half an hour. Let me escort you back to Jugkettle. I owe you that much at the very least."

* * *

"That ferry..." Guntz was murmuring two hours later, when they had safely reached Breezegale and had met with the village elders. "Urgh, it's made me so dizzy..."

"Two hours, Guntz._ Two_ god-damned hours." Leorina gave him a playful shove. "That too much for you?"

"I don't like ferries." The hunter mumbled, flushing a deep red. "Makes me feel sick."

"Aww, _bless_." Leorina said in a sing-song voice. "The Great Bounty Hunter, getting seasick..."

Klonoa watched this exchange in silence. Now that the three others - Guntz, Leorina and Pango - had identified themselves, there was no reason for them to stay any longer.

"Well, as there is nothing more I can do here, farewell." Guntz said, slinging his rucksack over the Red Clan and confirming Klonoa's thoughts. "I cannot stay too long anywhere in Lunatea." He smiled, looking almost tired and drawn out. "I'll come visit sometime, though. Tell the elders that I left. I'll come soon."

"Do so." Klonoa said softly, which made the hunter look at him with surprise. The cabbit looked somehow nervous and uncomfortable saying that, but Guntz did not mind.

"Thanks." He said quietly, and then without another word he mounted the motorcycle and drove off, in the direction of the Bell's Hill, knowing that the way led out of the village.

Klonoa watched him as he went; he felt that he would be seeing the hunter again, very soon indeed, as he glanced at the thoughtful, pensive look on the hunter's face. Was he thinking about Nahatomb? Or his father? Guntz had a Gold Medal, for he had achieved all that he wanted; he'd avenged his father and had proved himself. Pango had a Gold Medal also, for he had managed to rescue his son. Klonoa was the only one of the trio to have a Silver Medal, but this didn't worry him too much. Maybe he had further duties to do. That was fine. Being a Hero was no longer an obsession for him; the true qualities lay on the way he lived, not in the Medal itself. He realized that now.

He thought about Guntz again, his mind drifting over to the events of the last few days. He could start forgiving now, he supposed. Guntz seemed to be thinking about something along those lines too, Klonoa noted from the expression.

He was right. Yet unknown to him, the hunter was thinking about a lot of other things as well.

* * *

"Well," Leorina shrugged and smiled. "Seeing as the hunter-boy's gone... I need to set off on a journey of my own, too."

"Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know... but definitely La-Lakoosha. Sky Temple." She looked up into the clouds, her hair blowing gently about in the breeze. "Maybe I'll go back to the Moon for a few days and come back. I'm going to go and apologize to the High Priestess, and then I'll look for something more decent. I'll come visit you, too." She sighed. "I need a work partner, too... I'm sick of being a Sky Pirate. And besides I need to return those things."

She searched in her pockets for the two elements, and brought them out. "I've messed with them for long enough."

"They're the elements of Discord and Indecision." Lolo said, peering at them. "I'll accompany you to the Sky Temple - I train there - and I will gladly come with you to Mira-Mira... providing you allow me, Leorina..."

"Of course!" The girl smiled and handed the elements over. "Here. Keep them safely. I can trust you with them." Lolo nodded happily, taking the elements without fuss. The heat and power of the objects made Klonoa cringe, but neither Leorina nor Lolo seemed to be affected by this. She put them carefully into her pocket.

"When do you plan to go to the Sky Temple?"

"I plan to be gone for a week or two." Leorina said softly. "After that I'll come to the Sky Temple and ask to see you, Lolo. During that time I'm going to be in the Moon to explain my actions... close off other connections too." Leorina grinned happily. "It's about time I got things straight and sorted out."

Lolo nodded, and excused herself; she needed rest and they understood that. Pango, meanwhile, had stayed silent during this whole time, but now he squinted and pointed up to the distance.

"Is that... a fire?" Pango pointed up to the Bell's Hill.

Klonoa looked; there was smoke coming from the hill all right, but this did not alarm him that much. Frequent forest fires happened in Breezegale, and they were never serious; the warm, but moist climate helped to limit the fire. The ashes made fertile ground, so they were considered natural and were welcomed in a way; as long as people stayed out, it was fine.

"It's one of the forest fires, I think." He said. "It's not too big. Think of them like the Volkian fires. It's a forest area so there are a lot of fires, but they aren't too bad. They're more smoke than anything."

"So it's not a serious fire." Leorina shrugged, and Pango nodded also, although he looked rather uneasy. "Is it safe for me to go through?"

"It doesn't seem very big for me." Klonoa said slowly. "I know the area well. I don't think there's a blaze. It should be safe, but I still won't recommend going in just yet. I suppose you could go _around_ it..."

"But Klonoa, it's a _fire_-" Pango interrupted. "I don't mean to be offensive, but that sure doesn't look like a safe zone. Maybe Leorina can wait for a while?"

"I trust Klonoa," Leorina smiled. "And he's quite correct, I think. I'll try to go through. If there's a blaze, I'm coming straight back." She slung her pack over her arm. "I really must get going now. Much like Guntz, I can't stay too long anywhere - not yet at least."

Pango looked uneasy but nodded. "Be careful." He said quietly, and the girl pulled him into a friendly hug.

"You were just like a father to me." She giggled. "And I hope I'll see you soon! You too, Klonoa!" She gave the cabbit a hug too, and in an instant began climbing up the hill, totally unafraid.

"She'll be fine." Klonoa assured Pango. "I can guarantee that much."

"Yes..." The armadillo nodded and then turned away. "I'm sure she will be... Guntz too..." Still murmuring to himself, he had disappeared into one of the huts to give his greetings to the village people. Klonoa, now left alone, looked up at the Bell's Hill, his grin slipping from his face. Guntz and Leorina had gone the same way - and he was worried about them. Was Guntz out of the village now? When the hunter had left there had been no fire; either it had started in view of the youth or he had safely passed by already. He did not think that either Guntz or Leorina would have been injured by the fire, they were too competent for that, but there was just something about it that made him feel uneasy.

He approached the hill and began to climb slowly upwards. It wouldn't hurt to look out for them and check, he thought - they couldn't have gotten very far.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leorina had reached the top of the hill. She looked around, wondering if there was a blaze anywhere; there was none. She walked on, noting to herself that the ground was unusually fresh for a forest fire (there was a large black smudge on the ground but that was it) when her foot hit against something.

"Heh?" She looked down, and bent down, picking up a large shrapnel. "What's this?"

"Good question." A low voice drawled from the bushes. "You sure did take your time, did you not?" Leorina flinched sharply, dropping the shrapnel and glancing around.

"Show yourself!" She called, trying not to sound afraid. "Who are you? Come out!"

"Gladly." The voice said again, and a famillar male stepped out from the bushes in front of her, pointing a red pistol to her head. He grinned, showing his sharp teeth. The girl gasped as she recognized the figure, tensing involuntarily.

"...Guntz...?" Leorina stammered, backing away. The hunter stepped forward also, eyes glistening dangerously, and the girl stopped, thinking better of it. "What... what's going on? I thought you'd left the village by now... What's..."

"Your own demise." Guntz replied, his eyes cold as steel. "I tricked you. There is no fire. The hill is safe." He cocked his gun a little, a small smirk making its way onto his face. "Pango's trick explosives sure do their job well - my compliments to the master, indeed! There was no trouble at all. I know everything in here so well; Breezegale has so many forest fires it isn't even funny. Only you, who had little knowledge of the village, would come up here and expect to get through safely." He let out a short laugh. "Do not attempt to escape, for we are away from help. Make a foolish move and I shall fire." He fished around in his pocket for a silencer, which he then installed into the pistol. "This is so easy... No one will hear us now."

Leorina said nothing.

"Do you not fear death, Leorina?" He asked softly, his voice almost gentle and soothing in the moment, but his eyes betrayed his voice; they were more dangerous than ever, and the girl flinched away at the venom in his attitude.

"Why must _I_ die?" She finally asked. "Why me?"

"It's nothing but your fate." The hunter answered calmly, showing no emotion. "There's no death without reason, of course; but the reason that the victim offers, and the reason that fate gives are different. Even if they were the same, though, nothing will change." His fingers tightened their grip on the gun. "I must do it. There is no secret - I _must_ do it, that's all. But even if I didn't do it and let you go free now... you're still fated to die today. I'm just making it quick and painless for you. You really should be grateful, Leorina."

"What are you talking about?" Leorina cried, looking around frantically. "There is no such thing as fate! Guntz, what-" She was silenced by a gloved hand grasping her throat and the cold barrel of a gun and silencer mere inches away from her head.

"Do you _want_ this to be painful, Leorina? I can do anything I want. You're within my power." Guntz hissed. The girl shook her head frantically, and he released her, making her flinch away while coughing violently. Leorina looked scared, truly scared of him, yet he looked on, emotionless. But deep inside his mind, he honestly couldn't understand why this information was so obvious to him; Leorina was going to die. He could see it in her eyes from the moment they met, but he didn't understand why he could see it. To him this would be the second time he had killed someone of close association; and something inside him writhed again and again, wanting to pull the trigger and savour the sight of crimson blood staining the ground.

He would satisfy this thing, this something within him, this... _need_ that had arisen deep inside.

A fish on a chopping board, he decided. A mere fish. That was all Leorina was. He was in control of the knife and he wouldn't fail.

"I'm not afraid to die, Guntz." Leorina whispered hoarsely once she stopped coughing. "But I wonder... if you really have the right to kill me like this..." She stepped closer, the initial fear gone, and Guntz looked taken aback at this sudden twist of events. "That's all I want to know."

"I'm an assassin. I am Shinigami Guntz." Was the reply. "That's all you ever need to know. It doesn't matter."

"Who asked you?" Leorina continued, as if she hadn't heard. "If you are indeed an assassin, Guntz... you must be acting under orders from someone. Assassins don't just go around looking for people to wipe out without reason!"

"Are you trying to persuade me to put down the gun?" Guntz laughed mirthlessly. "That won't happen. Such hopes are futile."

"No." Leorina answered. She approached him still closer, and the hunter drew back; she had an array of weapons that he knew about, and some more hidden within her clothes. Although she had left the majority of her weapons in the Crimson Iris, she was still armed in some way, he knew that. She could attack him any time without hesitation, and as he knew her hidden brutality, he did not doubt that she was planning to attack.

"Please, Guntz..." She took out her knife, and threw it aside on the grass, paying no attention to the blade. She looked at him with large, pleading blue eyes, stepping towards him. Guntz backed away, looking nervous despite the fact that she had disarmed herself of her main weapon. This wasn't what he'd expected. At all.

The fish was about to slip back into the water.

"Please." She said again, and this time she took out her throwing knives, again dropping them onto the ground in exchange for being able to advance a little further on him. "I want to know the name of the person who wants me killed. Guntz, tell me... you can spare me that much before you kill me, I'm not asking for much..."

"Save your words." Guntz stuttered, pointing the gun again towards her forehead. "You'll only die twice."

"Tell me, Guntz..." Leorina took off her cloak and knelt down, pressing the cold barrel of the gun against her own forehead, eyes still staring directly into the hunter's. "Tell me... or kill me now."

"...I take the second offer." Guntz whispered. "Are you ready?"

Leorina smiled sadly and without humour. And suddenly Guntz could see something, very faintly glistening on the girl's forehead, bleeding crimson. It was that... _something_ he had seen back when they first met.

And he didn't like it one little bit.

"So be it." And the girl closed her eyes, letting a few lines of prayer fall from her lips.

And he pulled the trigger.

* * *

There was silence on the hill.

Leorina lay on the ground, still and unmoving, the wind scattering locks of her hair about. She could have been sleeping; if not for the bloodstain slowly spreading onto the ground, and the almost invisible bullet mark on her forehead, she could have been sleeping in perfect peace, splayed out against the sun. She was beautiful; there was a hint of surprise in her face, her eyes closed, but other than that she was Leorina.

Guntz knelt down and looked at her for a while.

His hands arranged her body in a more gentle position, so that it didn't look like she'd just been brutally murdered - even though technically she had been, if not _brutally_ - and left her be, his eyes travelling over to her forehead. The mark was gone now, and he was glad; it had only been his delusion, nothing more than that.

Leorina had not been afraid of him.

Why, he had no idea; but the girl had met death with calmness beyond comprehension, which was completely contrary to what he'd expected. But it was Leorina after all, he'd liked her; perhaps it was the only way to truly release her from fate. Besides, she had known too much about the Moon incident, which was arguably best left to be forgotten by others. He smiled blankly to himself.

"So you've done it again, Guntz." A voice shook him out of his trance and the hunter whirled around, seeing Klonoa emerge from behind a group of bushes, looking horrified and pale but determined. His lips were pressed closer together, his expression full of hate and anger. The hunter briefly wondered how much of this he had seen, feeling an unpleasant sense of deja vu creeping onto him. There was no Pango to help him out this time.

"I thought I could forgive you." Klonoa continued in a shaking voice. "I thought that it was the last killing of a person you would ever do. I thought Janga would be the last. You helped us all in the Moon, and you did have good reason to kill Janga and that was why I was so god-damn _close_ to forgiving you for making me witness it all-" Tears of rage were falling down his eyes now, a deranged laugh escaping his lips. "But no, you just had to go and mess it all up, Guntz... you just had to go and ruin my image of you _again_!"

"Klonoa-"

"Don't call me by my name!" The cabbit shouted, fists clenching. "You have no right to call me by my name! You have no right to stand there and look at me! You have no rights at all in this place, Shinigami Guntz!"

Guntz backed away, knowing better to approach the cabbit in this state; he didn't want to do him even more harm than he already had done. He looked into the cabbit's eyes, finding no other alternative. "You don't understand."

"What don't I understand?" Klonoa whispered. "You killed her. There's something I'm missing right there, is it? And what would that be?"

"You don't know the full story." Guntz said urgently. "I had to, Klonoa. I had to do it."

"You had to kill her." Klonoa repeated. "I'm still not getting the message here. That's all you can say, isn't it? You disgust me."

Guntz stepped towards him, looking desperate. "Klonoa, please!"

"Don't - come - next to me!" Klonoa cried. "Don't touch me!"

Guntz withdrew away from the cabbit and stood five feet apart, looking at him with a curious expression on his face, something between regret and anguish. "Please, I can explain..."

"I believed in you!" Klonoa shouted. "I wanted to help you all along! When you left me behind in the Moon's Ruins I searched for you, because I cared! I overlooked all your faults!" He drew his breath in sharply. "I- I _admired_ you! I even _loved_ you! And you ruined it all!"

Tears were running freely down his cheeks but he didn't notice; he grasped his head, looking down at the corpse, seemingly lost for more words. Guntz simply stood and stared.

"... You... _what_?" He managed to utter.

"It doesn't matter." Klonoa said spitefully. "I don't feel anything for you right now."

There was silence.

"I declare you my mortal enemy, Shinigami Guntz." Klonoa whispered, but the sheer impact of those words fell heavily on both of them, destroying something between them for ever. "From this day and so forth you are no longer my associate nor my friend." He brought his face up to meet Guntz's eyes, and the hunter stared into those fierce amber eyes, not knowing what to say. He looked away.

"Look at me." Klonoa snarled. "Look into my eyes and don't turn away. That way the next time I meet you, I'll remember your gaze and remember that you're my _enemy_."

"Old enough already to make this declaration..." Guntz murmured sadly and met the cabbit's eyes for a second, looking away after a few seconds or so. "What I did was unforgivable, I know. But I can explain - I can tell you why..."

"I don't need to hear it." Klonoa cut through him sharply. "You killed Leorina. That's all I need to know."

"Klonoa-"

"Get out."

Guntz reeled back, looking shocked. "Wh... what?"

"Get out!" Klonoa unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the hunter, no mercy or pity in his eyes. "Get out of Breezegale. There is no place for you here. Get out and don't come back, and if you ever come here again..." He swallowed dryly, the words in his mouth but feeling too weak to say them. However, the sight of Leorina's body on the ground brought on a flashback of Guntz mutilating Janga on the moon mere days ago, and his face hardened.

"... I'll... I'll kill you."

"You." Guntz murmured. "_You_, kill me? I'd like to see you try." His voice had suddenly gained the cold, mocking tone he had used when he had been with the cabbit at the start. Klonoa flinched, wincing at the sudden change of voice, but it only convinced him further that Guntz was no longer his friend.

"I've been protecting Breezegale since I was old enough to fight." Klonoa said sharply. "And I'm going to protect it until the very end." The end of the sword still was pointed at him. "And I'll do that this time by throwing you out of here."

Guntz said nothing.

"What else are you hiding, Guntz?" Klonoa asked, his voice hateful. "Come on. Tell me. I'm sure it'll be worth hearing. Who knows, maybe you killed someone or two in the government... or in the police force... or you might have poisoned some of my friends..." Tears were welling up in his eyes but the half-crazed sneer lingered in his face still. "Or maybe who knows... you might have been living a lie all this time and you're too deluded to admit it to yourself..."

"I'm hiding nothing from you." Guntz replied, his voice calm once again. "You see what I do. You interpret them yourself according to how much you see. That is all."

"That's a lie." Klonoa spat. "I saw everything with Janga. There was nothing misinterpreted about that."

"But this one isn't like that, Klonoa-."

"Oh, so Leorina's nothing more than 'this one' now, is she?" The cabbit shot back. "Makes me wonder how many more you've been killing under our nose." He went over to the girl's body and knelt beside her, brushing a lock of her hair back. "Poor, poor Leorina... you'll pay for this one day, Guntz."

"I can't wait." The hunter said and turned away. Klonoa stood up, face filled with pure hate.

"Running away, Guntz?" He whispered. "That's not like you. But I don't care, I guess. I don't care as long as you're out of here." The hunter didn't turn back. "Go then. Don't come back."

Guntz stopped for a brief moment. "What are you going to tell them?" He asked, his voice expressionless and bland. He suddenly sounded tired, so unbearably _tired_; the cabbit actually drew back, wondering if he really had gone too far this time before he realized he should really be past this stage anyway. Something between them was destroyed, harshly broken apart, no one could put it back together - and they had to start now. He hesitated.

"I'll tell them that both of you were gone already." A shadow crossed his eyes. "I'll just tell them... that you're both out of the village. Last thing I'll ever do for you."

"Do so." Guntz replied sadly, and then he began to run into the forest.

And he didn't stop.

* * *

Klonoa stood watching for a long while, even when he couldn't see Guntz anymore. Slowly, the sword fell from his hand to the ground, and he sank to his knees, hugging himself tightly. He had done it. He had severed the link with Guntz, he had announced his hatred; and there was no going back.

He closed his eyes, trying to hold the tears back while trying to understand _why_. Why had Guntz killed Leorina? To satisfy his own sick desire for blood? That didn't seem to be the case. The whole thing had been too well planned out, too well done. Guntz had manipulated his knowledge of Breezegale perfectly to trap and murder the girl, which was not what a homicidal murderer did. There were forest fires in Breezegale, after all. Nobody cared for them, after all, except for people who were new to the area. The plan had been perfectly executed. Too perfectly.

There was a firework left lying on the ground; as much as it pained him to do so, he lighted the firework and threw it on Leorina's body, which instantly burst into flames. The firework would not last for more than three minutes but it was enough to burn the evidence into ashes, being far too powerful. It was convincing enough to fool Klonoa that it had been a real fire, after all.

"Why..." He muttered, watching the orange flames. "Why the hell... am I helping him still...?" He could have given it all away, he could have framed Guntz, he could have killed him right there up on the hill - there were hundreds of possibilities and he'd carried none of them out. Now that the firework was lit, Klonoa couldn't even back out of his story anymore - there would be no body left. But he knew one thing. Even though he hated Guntz, even though he had driven the hunter out - Klonoa wouldn't have been able to kill him. No matter how he threatened Guntz he would still not be able to kill him, and that was the truth. He looked at the sword lying on the ground, picked it up and sheathed it; he shuddered at the thought of plunging it into Guntz's body, and shook his head. He couldn't sink to that point. He would not allow himself to sink that low.

But he would protect Breezegale. He would protect those around him.

Even if it meant fighting Guntz.

"I won't give up." He murmured softly to himself. He looked at the girl's body again, now burnt into ashes, and sighed. He let them swirl away in the wind, stirring them in the direction of Volk City, scattering them away with a Wind Bullet. "I swear to you, Leorina... I'll avenge you... I'll protect them, _all_ of them, even if it means my life..."

As he let a teardrop fall onto the ground, the Medal on his chest began to gleam a bright Gold.

* * *

...Well.

That's how the story goes now. Klonoa officially hates Guntz. And with that the first part is over.

Guntz has a magic pocket. He gets rifle-scopes, an infinite amount of cartridges and silencers out of it. Silencers, especially ones on a pistol, are not very heavy... but they're certainly not the best things to carry around in your pocket. It looks very, very, very suspicious and is against the law. Fun.

So ends the final chapter of the Klonoa Part. I have thrown you a question during the whole part; what is going on inside Guntz? It is now up to me to write the answer down, and you to try to solve it... The answers will vary depending on what level of fantasy you are willing to tolerate. Hopefully the second part will reveal more things.

I'm going to update a few more things, then I'm going to take a short break after updating the Prologue of the next part.

Good luck...


	12. Part Two Prologue: Truth Better Unknown

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the last chapter about 24 days ago. Jesus. Three weeks?!

**Author's Note**: I died for a couple of weeks and then all I produced was this little chappie. God, I fail at life.

x.x

----------------------------------

_It's a nice day._

_But I'm not enjoying it._

_Today I was cooking lunch in the kitchen. Nothing too complicated, but delicious all the same - and I was getting ready to dice the vegetables when a parcel for my husband arrived. Naturally, of course, this meant that I had to go to the door to recieve it. But the parcel is not the important thing; oh no! Butz always recieves deliveries of rare, antique guns and something-or-other. Sometimes I think he's attached to his guns more than me!_

_Anyway, I put the parcel down on the table and re-entered the kitchen, only to find my boy standing on his tiptoes and dicing the vegetables on his own. He was very skilled with the knife, and when he'd finished dicing the vegetables, he picked up the chopping board and placed them in the pot of boiling water, starting from the ones that take quite a while to boil. When he was done, he calmly washed his hands and skipped over to the cupboard to get himself some cookies._

_Now that might be regarded as a helpful thing._

_But how can it be, when I never _taught _him in the first place?_

_It's true; he knows things that no child of his age would normally know. I believe that I've already talked about his ability to assemble guns. Quite recently, he has begun to show some more strange behaviour, such as doing things around the house like ironing. He just turned five; I have never taught him how to iron. He also began to shoot down some game, tagging along with his father. I think shame on Butz for allowing the boy to go! But then, he has never suffered an injury. It's like he knows where to target, where to shoot for a perfect kill. _

_I don't understand why._

_Whenever I think about that child and his unusual abilities, the first thing I feel is unpleasantness; the elderly must have planted things into his head. They love him dearly, believing that he is holy. There is no other explanation. Honestly, I've never taught him any chores. I never taught him how to cook. But he knows, he knows it well, perhaps better than any child above his age. It isn't right. The elderly of the village adore him and implant things into his head, telling him queer superstitions that he's the reincarnation of the Shinigami. I bet at least one person has told him why he is so sacred to them. That's bad. I don't want him to grow up believing that he's a God of Death._

_My husband opposes my arguments that the child must be isolated from the elderly. He doesn't want to make further trouble, being the peacemaker he is when he isn't spilling blood. "He's being loved by everyone... just leave it at that." He says._

_Well, I wasn't having that. I protested. He is our child. He should grow up to be normal like everyone else. He isn't something strange like the re-incarnation of the Shinigami._

_But he sure is very, very strange._

_Ah, that reminds me. Today my boy made a small charm out of a newspaper and hung it out on the door. When I inquired him about it, he said that he had made a weather charm. I looked at it - it was beautifully made, with unusually intricate foldings, but I didn't mind._

_"That's the upside down position, mum." He said, nibbling on a cookie. "I'm starved..."_

_"Upside down?" I looked at him with surprise. "But that doesn't make a charm for sunny weather."_

_"It's not for sunny weather. It's for rain."_

_I tried to hold back the emotions coursing through me. Hadn't he loved the sunny climate of Volk? Why had he changed like this? I tried to steer the conversation towards something more... optimistic, let's say._

_"Ah... you're worried about the freesias in the garden, aren't you, darling? They'd wilt in all those heat." _

_But he just looked at me, with that expression I loathe so much; that incomprehensible blank look, yet with a slight tinge of sadness within..._

_"I'm tired of... sunny days." He said._

_It's just unbelievable. He changed so much. I hardly recognize my little boy every time I see him. He does the unbelievable - which has happened right in front of my eyes! He diced the vegetables and cooked them to an extent while I never taught him to._

_Someone's messing with him when I'm not around._

_Someone's implanting things into that child's brain._

_But who; and... _why?

_-----_

_I went with my husband and son to the clinic today. Butz's been complaining of certain headaches recently, and my boy's said something simillar. So I accompanied both to the doctor's to find out what it was. _

_I should have not gone._

_My husband, apparently, has a certain inherited disease, going back dozens of generations. It does not have any symptoms; not like cancers, or tumours of any kind, or anything physical. It's what will happen to his mind that makes the disease fatal. Normal life will not trigger the disease... but once it is triggered, there is no going back._

_Apparently only something like extreme trauma can serve to off-set the disease... causing extreme mental deteorientation. _

_The disease is supposedly passed down the father's side, so that means my boy must have it also._

_Is that why they both sometimes display unusual behaviour? Because they all have this... poison within their very veins? My son is definitely unusual; fortelling the weather, for instance. I've seen him hanging onto his umbrella on what would seem like a sunny day, but proudly holding it up when the raindrops fall. But there were also times when I saw him coming home, dripping wet from the rain, because he forgot his umbrella. That's certainly normal for a child like him. _

_Butz sometimes displays erratic behaviour also, although nowhere as bizarre as my son; he sits out on the veranda and merely stares at the clouds for minutes and hours on end when he's feeling stressed. But he doesn't act strange after that. All he does is that, and after that he's back to normal again._

_...Well, perhaps except for that one time._

_I came back home one day, and found Butz in the shed. The bullet cartridges from his guns had been pulled out, lying in a row, and he seemed to be working on something. As I came closer, I could see that he was carving some kind of a mark on his guns; it was a distorted cross-mark that looked distinctly satanic. I inquired him about it._

_"I'm tired, Mileva." He merely answered, in a strange, hollow voice. "I'm tired. I see things with them. Maybe if I do this everything will be all right." _

_"What do you mean,'them'?" I asked, but he shook his head and carried on carving. The same mark, on every single one of his guns... the same mark over and over again. Afterwards he said nothing more about it, and I didn't either. _

_It's not like those cross-marks will affect us, anyway. Butz must have been just very tired. My boy doesn't seem to know much about those marks, as he didn't react to them. So obviously it has nothing to do with the disease - otherwise why would they both ignore the marks? There are no other 'signs' other than the ones I have outlined so far. _

_A flurry of waterdrops hit the lawn, followed by another, and soon a shower begins. Just as my boy thought._

_I must say it's still quite soothing._

_I'm not going to let this disease affect our lives. _

_If the disease even exists at all, that is; the doctor has said that it might be something completely different, and he only could diagnose it by analysing Butz's bloodline. Perhaps it doesn't exist. And if it does exist - which I highly doubt - it still cannot be triggered unless something traumatic happens._

_Besides, when is severe trauma ever going to hit us, anyway? We're a normal family. We have done nothing wrong; there is no chance that such misfortune will ever hit us. _

_No. _

_Never._

_It's going to be all right._

_I repeat that to myself as I look up to the rainy skies above, my child's little charm waving in the wind. It's all going to be fine, nothing will go wrong, we're going to live well, we're going to be happy... nothing will go wrong..._

_Nothing _must _go wrong..._

--------------------------------------

I present to you... The Melancholy of A Bounty Hunter's Mother.

God, I'm so tired.

So more plot points are revealed. The hunter we all know about may have the 'disease'. He may not. Or can it even be classified as a disease? Does it even exist?

Think about it...


	13. Part Two, Pango: New Meetings

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the previous chapter about nine days ago.

**Author's Note:** This chapter is slow and pretty much self-explanatory. Nothing much to say.

Pango's storyline will not feature much action. But a lot of weird confusing stuff will happen along with a lot of origins. Fun.

------------------------------------------------------------

A clink sounded as a hand set down the teacup.

"So that's why I'm getting the award." A voice said, sounding slightly bashful. "I must say, it's a first since I became Captain of the Police Force..."

"Well done, Suiryu my boy." Another voice, this one sounding older, laughed. "And I can safely say you deserve it! No, don't be modest, Suiryu - you've worked so hard over the years! Take some time to congratulate yourself. You don't have to be formal all the time."

"Heheh... Pango, you flatter me." Suiryu chuckled, picking up the teacup and taking another sip. "What can I say? You're the closest family I have. You've looked after me well for a long time."

"You're practically Boris's brother." Pango replied cheerfully, picking up the teapot and pouring himself more tea. "More tea, Suiryu?"

"Please." He held out the teacup, nodding in thanks as the cup was filled; he swirled the liquid around for a while, and then took a delicate sip. "Lovely. So I owe this to you, too, in a certain sense. It's all thanks to you that I managed to go this far..." Suiryu bowed his head softly in respect, despite Pango's silent protests.

"Don't mention it," Pango said, looking slightly flushed but pleased. "I only did what I would have done for anyone. By the way, are any of your investigations due in soon?"

"One," Suiryu frowned slightly, setting down the teacup. "It's a strange case. Murder. I can't give details but it's gruesome." He shuddered. "And we have absolutely no clues to start with. There is nothing we can do at the moment; but we're trying our best. That's what we do, after all."

"I offer you my full support, my boy."

"Thank you." Suiryu stood up. "I must get going now. Night shift." He put on a short jacket and smiled at the armadillo. "I'll see you again tomorrow, Pango!"

"Don't work yourself too hard, Suiryu. I'll see you tomorrow." Pango smiled back, waving as Suiryu left by the front door; he briefly looked up at the wall, where the clock hung. It said nine fifty. Suiryu was usually due in his shifts by ten. Hoping that he really hadn't kept back the young dragon for too long, Pango began to clear the dishes and teacups away, humming to himself.

A knock sounded on the door.

Pango set down the teapot (which was still quite warm - Volkian fires kept things hot for a long time) and went to the front door, fiddling with the lock.

"Did you forget something, Sui... ryu..." Pango trailed off, eyes widening at the visitor at the door; he could do nothing but stare. Now _this_ was something he had not expected.

"Not quite Suiryu, I'm afraid." The visitor chuckled. It was Guntz.

But Guntz had changed noticeably in the last two weeks, since Pango had last seen the youth. His clothes were dirty, with dark stains (blood?) on them, and he had a number of cuts running down his arms. He looked tired and _very_ worn out indeed; the armadillo guessed that he had not seen a proper lodging for days.

"Hello, Pango." Guntz smiled tiredly at the armadillo. "Long time no see. May I come in?"

-----

"And that was what happened... tell me, Klonoa, what happened at Breezegale today?"

"Nothing much, Lolo." Klonoa answered into the phone, absent-mindedly doodling on a piece of paper. "They're still repairing the Bell on the hill. Other than that, same as usual. Can't say I'm surprised, though, with Breezegale being so secluded and unknown. Aren't any priestesses bothering you, then?"

A laugh came from the other side. "No, not anymore. At least not too much. They're staying away, so that's good. Must be the Moon incident that changed it all." Klonoa put down the pen and started to pay more attention, his bland gaze becoming more focused in case something dire came up. "Speaking of that incident... Klonoa, have you had any kind of contact from Leorina?"

The cabbit's hands clenched into fists, although Lolo was blissfully unaware of this. "No." He managed, trying to keep the sudden burst of rage in his mind to himself.

"No need to be so tetchy." Lolo replied from the other end, sounding irritated. "No? Strange... it's been two weeks, she should be coming to Mira-Mira soon... I've still got the two elements she gave me. I'll wait for another week or two."

_You're wasting your time, Lolo._ Klonoa nearly screamed. _Leorina's dead, she's been for two weeks, and no one's ever going to find her seeing as __I'm__ the one who made sure of that. After the bastard murdered her by shooting her on the head-_

"Yeah, you do that." Klonoa mumbled. "Lolo, I'm _really_ tired at the moment. I'm sorry... I think I need to go..."

"Alrighty. No offence taken." The priestess girl answered. "Look after yourself, will you, Klonoa? I wouldn't want you to fall ill."

"Yeah." Klonoa answered blandly. "Talk to you tomorrow..." He trailed off as Lolo hung up, and then put the reciever down, staring blankly into thin air. Ever since he had banished Guntz from the village he had been trying his hardest to forget about the whole incident. The hell could he ever kill the hunter, he had thought with bitterness, and had just tried to erase everything from his mind.

But things never quite worked the way they should.

People kept on reminding him of the Moon incident, almost every day; somehow the topic always managed to find its way through various conversations. He had thought it would pass in a few days' time, but it really was getting unbearable; every time the topic came up he thought of the promise he'd made upon Leorina's body, a promise that was almost impossible to keep, and it tormented him day and night.

But there had been something rather... _odd_ about the whole incident. That evening, half an hour after Klonoa had returned home with his sword hanging limply at his side, an earthquake had shaken the whole of the Jugkettle area and the forest that led to Breezegale. The Bell had tumbled down from its resting place because of it and many trees were uprooted; no one was in the forest, of course, but had Leorina been alive and well, making her way through the dense trees... Klonoa shuddered at the thought. It had been too close of a coincidence. That would have meant Leorina was... _fated _to die, almost, and he believed none of that.

He fingered the Wind Sword hanging on the wall. He'd never used it since that day on the hill, he'd never even _touched_ it; but now he took it down, staring into the handle and the blade, trying to make sense of himself. So what was he going to do? Would he let the promise fall and lead a quiet life? Or would he pursue his revenge?

Klonoa silently dwelt on the image of a bloodstained Guntz frantically stabbing at Janga's corpse. The image never left his mind, and after that day on the hill the focus had brightened so that Klonoa could see every detail. But now his feelings for the image had changed; he had once been repulsed and disgusted by the image, wanting to rid himself of it. Now he welcomed it, welcomed the silent rage and hatred that boiled up in his mind whenever he visualized the memory, and he could very well say that there was - pleasure - sick and twisted but nonetheless a pleasure - in dwelling in the picture. That was one thing he could credit Guntz for. Decadence of his mind. His fist clenched on the handle of the sword, and he began to absent-mindedly stroke the back of the blade, deep in thought.

He had already seen a game of revenge played out before him, had he not? Janga and Guntz had been enemies engaged in a lifelong vendetta. Guntz had won. Now a new game was about to begin. Klonoa knew just how to do it - he had the image to rely upon as an example. And if he did well, the hunter would become the hunted - and become nothing more than prey.

Klonoa laughed bitterly.

How ironic.

-----

_Meanwhile..._

"Suiryu's getting a knighthood, I heard." Guntz was saying over his hot cup of tea. "Rumours and news travel fast in the world of bounty hunters. I came to offer my congratulations..." Here he chuckled half dryly, sipping his tea. "...but I came too late, I should think."

"What brings you to this place, Guntz?" Pango asked, still not quite believing that the hunter was sitting in front of him. He took a sip of his own tea. "I thought you had gone to do some more work... you said that you could not stay in many places for a long time."

"True, true." Guntz chuckled. "But this hunter's not a very settled-down spirit. No, I came to talk to you about something. It's been plaguing me for two weeks now. It interferes with my work... and I daresay it's not a very welcome change."

"Tell me more." Pango said, leaning forward. "A problem, you say? What would it be?"

Guntz's smile turned somewhat resigned, and he set down the teacup. "Nothing that anyone in Lunatea would know about. Only you might be able to help me. And if you cannot do that... well... then I must try to live with it, I suppose. It's not a harmful thing, at least not yet."

Pango hesitated; he had no idea what the hunter was talking about, yet it was blindingly obvious that the boy needed help from him. Guntz was reliable, and despite his rashness at times, would not put the armadillo in danger. "Tell me." He finally said, wanting to offer a hand. "I wish to know everything."

"You must prepare to hate me first." Guntz said, in that oddly calm, enigmatic tone, confusing the armadillo further. "Tell me, Pango, have you had any contact from Leorina recently?"

"Leorina?" Pango repeated, thinking. Come to think of it, he hadn't; the girl had vanished off the face of the earth, although he had to admit the fact that he had never really thought about her. He had known that she was going back to the Moon to explain her actions, and during the two weeks up until now he had subconsciously established into his mind that she was there. "No, I'm afraid... does she come into this problem?"

"Very much so." Guntz sighed again. "So you weren't contacted."

"No, I wasn't."

"Fine." The hunter sipped his tea again. "I would have thought it impossible if you'd said yes, Pango, considering I killed her."

-------------------------------------------------

Dun dun dun...

Another short chapter with ages of break in between. Gah, why can't I update faster? Because I'm so busy nowadays. I've got an upcoming French exchange and everything. Bleh. x.x


	14. Part Two, Pango: Confined

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the previous chapter about three weeks ago.

**Author's Note:** Most nonsensical chapter in the entire story.

And it took me bloody three weeks to type this. Jee-sus. And it's not even a _long_ chapter.

* * *

"Is there something wrong, Lolo?"

"High Priestess." Lolo stood up from the place where she had been sitting, and bowed. "Pardon me... I must have drifted off for a while..."

"Understandable, dear child." The older woman smiled gently. "But something's bothering you, is it not?"

"The Goddess Claire." Lolo sighed, gesturing to the motionless statue behind her. "She does not speak to me yet. I still need to improve a lot... I've tried to call to her via my aura but she does not answer to me. I have a long way to go."

"Auras are not the primary concern when it comes to communicating with the Goddess, Lolo." The High Priestess replied, her voice gentle and soft. "It is your mind and spirit that will enable you to communicate with Goddess Claire. Keep on trying, my dear..."

"Yes, High Priestess." Lolo bowed low, and stood up straight. "I must leave now... priestess duties... I have to go and buy some incense to light by the altars."

"The prices have risen for those." The older woman said, looking slightly worried. "I don't know, Lolo, but I feel that Lunatea is getting to be less believing in the Goddess nowadays... Do take ten or fifteen dreamstones, just in case..." With a sigh, the High Priestess nodded to Lolo and hastily left the corridor, making no sound as she walked. The girl watched her leave, and then sat back down in front of the statue of the Goddess, staring hard into the motionless stone. Yes, indeed, Lunatea was getting to be much less religious than before. Within a few years only the best priestesses would be allowed to get jobs in temples and cathedrals - _I'll be out of a job then_, she thought bitterly with a chuckle - and to be honest, she had very little hope that this legend of the Goddess would live on right to the next century. Perhaps she really should explore other career options.

But what then?

She sighed and stood up, searching in her pockets for dreamstones. Twenty. The incense sticks would take a good half, or even three-quarters, out of that amount and she would have to try to live with whatever she had left for a couple of days. Even if she bought the incense tomorrow, she would have to try to live through the weekend, and if she ate during that time she would have no savings left.

"Looks like fasting all through the weekend for me, then." She muttered, and glanced at the oddly-bound stone hands of the statue. She'd never really understood why her beloved Goddess was always depicted as bound and imprisoned in statues and pictures, but then if she thought about her own position in the temple, maybe that was an indication. Put under lock and key and surrounded by idiotic girls.

Lolo laughed bitterly again. Very funny, indeed.

* * *

Pango blinked, not knowing what to say.

"You killed Leorina?" He asked blankly.

"You're not surprised?" Guntz looked mildly bewildered for a few moments, but then set down the cup of tea. "I did indeed. And for a reason."

"Why?" Pango asked, perhaps intending to sound aggressive and angered - the youth had killed another in cold blood, and he was admitting it without discomfort, which was quite frankly madness - but somehow it all came out sounding lost and cheated. "Why did you do that?"

"I could see it. She was due to die that day."

The armadillo made out no more sense in this strange statement. However, something clicked in his mind, and he looked hard at the youth, trying to piece his thoughts together. "The day we beat Nahatomb," He finally stated. "You knew how far Garlen had gone. You also knew when the spirits came to protect us in the battle." Guntz nodded. "Are you saying that you can sense supernatural activities? Or anything much out of the ordinary?"

"That's what I came to talk to you about." Guntz replied. "Did you know that there was a freak earthquake in Breezegale the day we all left?"

"I'd heard about that."

"I'd killed her only moments before. Had I let her go, or had she escaped..." Guntz deliberately trailed off. Pango didn't know what to say; the hunter was making no sense whatsoever, yet everything he said seemed to piece into what little the armadillo knew. "Strange things are happening to me, Pango, and I need you to help me. Only you can do this."

"But..." Pango started, yet he found himself unable to continue. Guntz looked down at the table, biting his lip delicately, looking suddenly nervous and tired.

"I know I've done a terrible thing." He whispered. "And I will understand perfectly, Pango, if you do not wish to help me... your kindness is simply too much for someone like me to recieve. But only you can help me. You've understood more about me than any others."

"Glad to see you're regretting it, at least." Pango replied, sounding half-hearted and flat, and Guntz flinched at the sudden hostility. "I should credit you for that, Guntz, for as far as I know bounty hunters are less capable of remorse than any other Lunateans. You've put me in a very difficult position here, and you can't very well pretend that all of this can be forgotten." He sighed. "I don't think this is something I can help you easily with. Dealing with the offensive and defensive in battle, maybe, but this..."

"I know." Guntz set down his teacup and stood up. "Perhaps I'd better leave."

Pango said nothing, but held up a hand when the youth turned around. "Stay." He said. "How did she take it?"

Guntz turned back slowly, and the look on his eyes were so miserable and depressed that the armadillo could not help but feel pity for him. "Better than I'd ever expected." He said softly, his gaze unfocused, dwelling on the day of the killing. "She was... very _gallant_ about it. And she never blamed me, although I never explained why she was going to die."

"That was nice of you." Pango said with contempt, although his gaze was not as hostile as before.

"Please, Pango." Guntz said desperately, looking up into the armadillo's eyes. Pango looked away, unable to meet his gaze. "I can't do this on my own. This isn't anything I can solve by myself. I need you to believe in me."

"And you will stop killing?"

Guntz fell silent.

"Exactly." Pango said, heaving a sigh. "But fine. I will help you to the best of my ability." But then his gaze sharpened, and he seemed to glower at the hunter (who flinched slightly). "Yet I will not forget what you've done to Leorina, how you snuffed her life out without any explanation; you and I aren't the same people who sat down to tea tonight. To be honest, this has... _damaged_... my trust in you."

Guntz said nothing, and they were silent for a while.

"I want to end this, Pango." The hunter finally said. "Then I will be able to go on as normal."

"Tell me what's been going on, and- Goddess!" Pango exclaimed suddenly, looking deeply troubled.

"What is it?"

"Leorina..." Pango murmured. "I knew it, but it just hit me right now that Leorina had died. It felt... so unreal. I was hoping that this was just a dream. And now..." He shook his head, looking lost. "I don't know, Guntz. This is just unexpected. I never thought I'd hear this kind of thing, so soon after all the havoc Nahatomb caused."

"I apologize." Guntz murmured. "But I've got to do something about it. I'll tell you - yes, I'll tell you, as insane as I may seem. Pango, I know this story will sound far-fetched, but just hear me out. I need someone to believe this."

"Go on."

Guntz did not immediately begin, but placed his handgun down on the table, pulling out the bullet cartridge and tucking it into his pockets. "See the cross-marks?"

Pango nodded, looking wary of the weapon even when it held no bullets; he was accustomed to bombs, but not any other weaponary. "Can you derive any meaning from it?"

"Unfortunately, no." Guntz answered. "I never knew why they were there. This was my father's second-to-last gift to me, and the cross-marks were always there. I thought nothing special of it until two weeks ago. When we met Leorina, Pango, I assume that you remember my first initial reaction to her."

"Relief?"

"No. I asked her what was 'that' doing 'there', remember?" Pango reflected back; yes, indeed he had said that. Guntz had dismissed the whole thing as a 'pattern on a Moo', and the armadillo had thought nothing of it.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Pango asked. "Surely you don't mean a Moo caused all this?"

"No." Guntz replied. "When I saw her I saw something unbelievable. This cross-mark..." He gestured to the gun.

"I saw that she had a cross-mark cut into her forehead. And she was bleeding from the wound."

Pango fell silent.

"I know it sounds insane. I thought she was gravely injured at first; but then I realized that you couldn't see it. That mark was visible only to me. And for the few days we were working together the scar deepened, and more blood was pouring out each time. It frightened me, Pango; that cross-mark was exactly like the ones on my gun. It meant something." The hunter swept a hand across his forehead, looking exhausted. "And then it got worse. Every time I looked at her, certain visions appeared before me. I thought I was going insane."

"What kind of visions?"

"Same ones each time." Guntz answered. "A forest fire. An earthquake. It became clearer with time, and by the time we'd killed Nahatomb I knew enough from the visions - I knew that she was going to die-"

"So you put her out of her misery?" Pango asked, his head whirling. None of this made sense together, but the tiny details fitted perfectly into the way Guntz had behaved around Leorina. He had always looked away from her as much as possible, he had always tried to keep out of her sight; it all fitted. "How do you know you weren't just seeing things?"

"Because right after her death, when I looked at her, the mark was no longer there." Guntz stood up, setting down his teacup. "And that's what happened to me all that time. I think I knew that I had to take her life, Pango... I think I knew because of the terrible things the visions showed me. I wanted to let her go quietly, not just let her perish in that earthquake. I could see no other option; especially after she announced that she would leave her airship in Volk City. I knew that she couldn't escape either way then." He sighed and picked up the guns again, tucking them away. "I must take my leave now, Pango. I cannot stay here for too long."

"Where will you go?"

"The Sky Temple." The hunter stated, his voice oddly deadpan. "Where I shall seek sanctuary from my enemies... and try to redeem myself in any way. But I highly doubt I can accomplish the latter, although Goddess knows I'll try." His gaze fixed on the armadillo's face. "Remember what you promised, Pango. Help me in any way you can. I cannot ask you to do anything right now - but I'll be in touch, and who knows what we might discover?"

"Finding out more about you, eh?"

"Pretty much." Guntz smiled tiredly once more. "Good night." He nodded quietly to the armadillo and went out of the door, closing it behind him. Pango briefly considered calling him back, that he was in no state to do anything (let alone travel), but eventually decided against it. He no longer felt very bewildered, nor did he feel tired; the story did sound very suspicious, and it was his job to try to help now. The look in the youth's eyes had told him that he wasn't lying; whether Guntz was mental or not mattered little to him now. He would find out soon enough.

Pango walked over to his living room and picked up the communicator from the cradle, and dialed a number.

"Captain Suiryu, please... ah, Suiryu, I didn't disturb your shift, did I? Well..." He hesitated. "Can you come over to tea tomorrow? I have a favor to ask of you."

* * *

God, I'm so sorry, everyone.

I lost the will to write for a long time. It's like the whole world was just meh.

Kaleidoscope's plot thickens into something totally nonsensical. But it will make sense... eventually... I hope. Kaleidoscope is like my best friend and worst enemy at the same time. I'm proud of it and I'm proud that I managed to finish a whole part in a chapter story - I tend to lose will after only a few weeks or so - but at the same time I kind of feel like giving it a slap on the face.

Odd.


	15. Part Two, Pango: Sanctuary

**Disclaimer: **What I said in the last chapter one month and twenty days ago.

**Author's Note:** Jesus Christ... what the hell is the matter with me? I'm neglecting my major fandom. I'm so ashamed of myself.

This chapter... it's long. And reveals important plot points. But it took me so long to write this it isn't even funny.

* * *

Lolo bustled through the busy streets, eager to buy the incense sticks before they were sold out; she would need to buy them quickly to get it over and done with. There was nothing wrong with that, of course, although she was annoyed at having to fast over the weekend. In the service of the Goddess Claire that was supposed to be bearable; yet Lolo wasn't very happy about it, although she did feel guilty about thinking of her own needs and wants when she wasn't supposed to.

"Excuse me..." She tentatively pushed through the crowd, entering a small shop. The shop smelt of wax, jasmine, lavender, and musk; all the scents of incense and candles. An elderly shopkeeper looked up from the counter and smiled.

"Well, look who's here! How are you, Miss Lolo?"

"I'm fine, thank you." The priestess girl smiled. "I came for the usual items. I believe they've risen in prices?"

"Unfortunately yes." The shopkeeper sighed, fumbling in one of the drawers in the counter. "They've had a significant increase. It's never been like this before, but the prices for candles and incense have risen so much that nobody buys them now. Lunatea is getting to be less religious, I believe." He put down a bundle of incense sticks on the counter. "There you go. The usual plain ones?"

"Yes. And you're right about Lunatea getting to be less religious - that was what the High Priestess said." Lolo said sadly, and glanced at the sticks of incense. "Bundle of twenty, isn't it? How much are those?"

"Fifteen dreamstones."

"I have twenty to last me through the weekend." Lolo sighed. "And that's all going to be spent on this." The shopkeeper looked shocked.

"But you can't use five dreamstones to last you through the weekend! That's just not enough!"

"I know. Fasting for me, I suppose." Lolo put down the dreamstones. "I'll manage fine, don't worry..."

"No, Miss Lolo, here's what we'll do." The shopkeeper looked around furtively and crouched down slightly as not to get seen. "I will only take nine dreamstones - the price it was before - and you keep all the rest. That should last you through the weekend and leave you some savings."

"But-"

"It's perfectly all right." The shopkeeper smiled. "Your life and well-being, I daresay, is much more important than the rising prices of incense. And don't worry about me. Six dreamstones don't make much difference to me at all."

Lolo hesitated. It seemed to be the most sensible thing to do, yes, but it was hardly the most decent thing to be doing. "Are you sure?"

"Sure as anything." The shopkeeper pressed the dreamstones into her hand, looking into her eyes. "Take it, Miss Lolo. Don't you fret. I'm perfectly fine."

--

The girl walked down the streets in a daze, hardly able to believe the deal had been done. She had actually gone against the rules of the Temple for her own survivial; already she regretted her act, but the shopkeeper would have none of it. She felt unbearably guilty for defying the rules, even though she told herself again and again that it was the only thing she could have done.

She wasn't used to making excuses for herself, because she never could pretend in the service of the Goddess.

Lolo stood on the top of a hill now, and there she stopped walking; the Temple was visible from here, and she knew that she would have to get back by sunset, but right now she didn't want to return. She didn't want to face the priestesses, nor the High Priestess, or even Popka. She wanted to be alone, she wanted to think, and think she would until twilight.

Many people were below her, busily making their own way to their homes. Lolo stared at them, ignoring the occasional passers-by who went over the hill; oh, how she envied them! How she envied the ones with proper homes, the children who had their parents to tuck them in with a song when night came! As much as she hated admitting it to anyone else, Lolo missed her own home in Breezegale sorely and wished to return. She was fed up with being a priestess-in-training, and no mistake about that. She stared broodingly at the uninteresting crowd below her; sure, they held no interest to her, but what else was there to see on top of this godforsaken hill?

But then, in the midst of the crowd she saw a stunning vision; a young male, standing with his back to her, was standing quite calmly amongst the busy crowd. He seemed to be submerged entirely in blue, shimmering ever so faintly against the setting sun; the vision was semi-trasparent, as if the youth was made out of glass. It was no normal vision she was seeing, and Lolo blinked, not knowing how to react.

The youth turned around, revealing his face. He seemed to be invisible to the others, but he looked at the priestess girl with a piercing gaze. Lolo momentarily flinched - but then his gaze softened, and the illusion smiled at her - smiled at her so brightly - and the priestess girl was left standing there, staring at this heavenly vision. The youth looked somewhat famillar, she thought, but she couldn't quite remember who it was.

But then a man barged into her, making her lose her balance, and the vision was gone.

"Ah...!" Lolo swayed and fell right over on the road, dropping the sticks of incense; a couple of dreamstones fell out of her pocket and skidded to a stop a few inches away from her.This did not bother her much - but her knees were grazed and bleeding, and her dress had become muddy. Lolo felt like tearing out her hair in frustration; what if the incense sticks were broken? Then she would be in deep, deep trouble...

"You seem to be a trouble magnet, dear." A voice said from above her, sounding amused. Lolo's eyes widened. She knew that voice. She whirled around, trying to fetch the incense sticks and get herself up, but was stopped by a gloved hand holding the bundle out to her.

"Nothing's broken." The voice said again, more kindly this time. "You were lucky. Here, let me help you up-"

"It's..." Lolo stammered, shakily taking the bundle of incense from this stranger's hand and looking up. "It's you... what brings you here?"

"I'm a travelling spirit. No reason why I can't be here." The person smiled, and grasped her hand tightly as he helped her up. Lolo got to her feet, and tucked the incense in her pockets, still staring at this strange vision.

Guntz the Bounty Hunter stood before her, just as cool and calm as always. Now she remembered the illusionary youth. There was the blue vision from earlier, in flesh, smiling at her gently; Guntz had been the vision she had seen. But why?

"Well, it's a surprise..." Lolo stuttered, a blush lighting up her cheeks. She'd just completely embarassed herself in front of this man, and she couldn't feel any more humilliated. But her own misery was cut short when Guntz grasped her hand and began walking down the hill, to the direction of the Sky Temple.

"We cannot linger here." He murmured. "Nightfall is no time for either of us to be out. We must hurry."

There was nothing particularly understandable about this statement; Lolo couldn't figure out why he was in such a hurry to go to the Sky Temple. Sure, he was suspicious... very suspicious indeed, she thought, and hung back for a second or so. "And is there a reason to this?"

Guntz turned and offered her a tired smile.

"I'm seeking sanctuary. I have no idea if my enemies are hiding somewhere waiting to kill me, and I do not wish to put you in danger either." He paused and turned again. "Come."

Lolo could say nothing to this. He was seeking sanctuary? Within the Sky Temple? Only people in dire need ever sanctioned themselves in the Temple, and even then they usually had to leave within two weeks. Yet this wasn't just an ordinary person she was with - this was Guntz, this was _the_ Bounty Hunter, with perhaps the entirety of Lunatea against him. It was evident that he would need much, much longer than just two weeks in the Temple.

She kept quiet and walked.

--

Klonoa was looking out of the window and brooding again for the umpteenth time.

It seemed that brooding was all he did now. He hardly slept nowadays, and didn't eat very much; his grandfather had noticed, and had tried to talk him out of it. Klonoa would have loved to take his grandfather's advice, yes, and eat heartily again, but now his mind was so damaged that it refused to listen to sense.

Anyway, what did he care about himself?

There was a better reason why he didn't sleep much. His dreams would haunt him every night; they were never focused, always bleary and unclear. But they were strong dreams, powerful ones - Klonoa had never experienced such intense dreams in years, and it frightened him. The images were always of the same thing. Janga's body, and Guntz.

It wasn't quite the way the killing had turned out, though; the dream images were much more unfocused, but the cabbit could always make out a sadistic, inhumane grin on the hunter's face.

And it was driving him mad.

Klonoa turned away from the window and took down his Wind Sword, getting out a clean cloth. He would have to keep the blade polished and sharp if he was going to end this any time soon. That was another thing that he'd learned from Guntz.

Always keep your weapons at the ready.

--

"It's nice of you to join me, Suiryu. I hope I'm not interfering your investigation."

"I'm glad I got out of it." Suiryu did look slightly nervous when he said that, and managed a shaky smile. "Although they'll hound me if they heard me say that. This investigation is too gruesome for my taste. I've dealt with murder before, but never on this scale..."

Pango sighed, sympathising with the dragon. "Very bloody and cruel, I take it?"

"It goes beyond cruel. This was the work of a madman." Suiryu took a sip of white wine and shuddered. "This one just... threw us off balance. And we know so little about the victim. He hasn't even been identified yet. And the man who discovered him is refusing to talk."

"More wine? And do tell me a little more."

"Yes please." The official accepted the drink and took another sip. "The man who discovered the victim is a shopkeeper. Quite frightened and confused too, when we questioned him. Nothing's really working out in the investigation yet, but we hope to find a clue soon." He glanced at the older man. "I'm keeping you back with this story, I apologize... so what was it that you wanted to ask me about, Pango? I'll answer as best as I can."

"Ah, that." Pango paused lightly, before he spoke once more. "What do you know about Guntz, Suiryu?"

"Guntz?" The official put down the glass and looked hard at the other man. "Has he been here?"

"No, but I heard from him two days ago." Pango replied smoothly, his voice revealing nothing. In fact, he had managed to keep his tone pleasant and just slightly curious - which was very different to what he actually felt for the teenager, but Suiryu didn't notice this. He twirled the glass in his hands, thinking. "Sounded quite tired and exhausted too. Poor lad."

Suiryu sighed. "That'll be because of his bounty hunting. He really overworks himself at those times. When I go out to investigate the details of his latest bounty, the victim's usually too tired and worn out to even speak a word because Guntz chases them until they're down. By the time they recover we lose track of him and the victim's too scared to say anything." He stared at the ceiling. "I can't say I know much about Guntz now. He changed so much. And I only know the criminals that he caught, but never what he's been up to all those years."

"Didn't you get the impression, Suiryu... that Guntz might be a little... strange? Or deranged in any way?" Pango asked, feigning caution; the officer looked at the armadillo with a frown, thinking.

"Many times." He finally answered. "When I saw what he could do to his victims. But after I saw him two weeks ago... Pango, Guntz is possibly the sanest person you will ever meet. I could certainly sense that much."

"You said that you lived in the same village when you were young?"

"When he was young." Suiryu nodded. "I'm twelve years his senior. Our families used to be closely associated - friends, even. Me and my father used to go to dinner at their house and they would come to ours." He let out a soft laugh. "And the villagers all wondered why we were so close, when we really ought to be shooting each other - ah, those were the days!"

"Tell me a bit more." Pango encouraged, pouring the other a little more wine.

Suiryu sipped the wine again and thought for a moment. "I only know the first five years of his life. Will that be enough?"

"Sure."

"When Guntz was first born... he was quite simply the most handsome baby anyone had seen." The dragon said. "And very cute, too. I saw him first when he was about three days old. And he never cried that much. Stared, more like - he stared at me with his bright blue eyes when I first saw him, and kept on staring at me until I left, like I was a very special kind of animal." He laughed again. "But then you don't see many dragons around. Anyway, he was the cutest baby I'd ever seen. With beautiful eyes and girly eyelashes."

"He looked like his father?"

"Practically cloned." The younger man agreed. "But Butz's eyes were not that bright. His eyes were a dull aquamarine. Guntz's eyes are different. I rather think he got them from his mother, Mileva. And you know how Guntz kind of looks like a female if seen from a certain angle? He inherited much of his looks from his mother, I should think. Butz was... the rugged kind of good-looking men." Suiryu grinned at the armadillo. "And let's say it, Guntz isn't exactly rugged. More like a pretty-boy."

Pango nodded, smiling. "So what was he like when he grew up a little?"

Suiryu's expression changed instantly; he looked away, staring into the wineglass, swirling the liquid mindlessly. "Well... I... It's difficult to say. From the moment he could walk and talk... Guntz began changing at an unusual rate."

"Changing? Please elaborate."

"It wasn't a physical change." The dragon continued, looking far away in his own memories. "Butz said that he would grow handsome, and by the time he was four or five he was a beautiful young boy. But... there was always something about the way the villagers treated him... and it made me uneasy, Pango. Guntz was no normal child."

"Go on."

Suiryu took a long sip and stared far ahead. "The villagers would tell him things, Pango... things that even I hardly know about. But what I know is that there was a myth about Butz's ancestors in the village. They said that his family had inherited the spirit of a Shinigami a long time ago - and if the ninth-generation firstborn was a boy, that boy would be the reincarnation of the Shinigami."

Pango froze; although only a myth, this seemed to have striking connections with Guntz's tale the other day: _'I saw that she had a cross-mark cut into her forehead. And she was bleeding from the wound.' _Surely that meant something? Shinigamis were Death Gods. It would make perfect sense to think that Guntz was a Shinigami, if he could see such things.

But then, was it even possible? Like Suiryu had said, that was a rumour and nothing more. For all he knew, Guntz could be hallucinating. And how could the hunter be a godlike entity? Did such thingss even exist? Not wanting to argue metaphysics with Suiryu, who happened to be very religious, Pango continued to talk about Guntz.

"And what about Guntz? What are his birth records?"

"Not too surprising, I guess, when I tell you." Suiryu laughed bitterly. "Guntz is a firstborn, male, and ninth generation down the 'beginning' when the spirit of the Shinigami was said to have entered the bloodline. Fits _perfectly_ into the mold, no?" He grinned, a flush upon his cheeks. Pango noticed that he was beginning to become a little drunk - but he still needed information. "Anyway... yes, he was a strange one. A very strange one. He could do things no child of his age could ever do."

"Such as?"

"Ironing... cooking... it might all seem very famillar and not too new, Pango. But remember that he began doing those things skilfully when he was four going on five. And he began showing the spirit of the gunslinger from a very early age. I know that Guntz could disassemble and put a gun back together in less than five minutes, even when he'd never even seen the gun before in his whole life. He would sometimes even predict the weather. The villagers adored him - those powers proved that he was the Shinigami, they said. And they said that he deserved respect."

"What did _you_ believe, Suiryu?" Pango asked quietly. "Did you believe that?"

The official's expression seemed to soften somewhat, but in a sad way; this retelling wasn't just about Guntz anymore, and the armadillo noticed. "When I was in the village... no. I never believed that he could be a Death God. But a few months before his whole family was massacred... something happened. And then when I found about Guntz's connections to that, I began doubting myself."

"What connection was this-"

"I cannot tell." The wineglass tipped onto the tabletop, and Suiryu sagged right down onto the table. Thankfully, the glass had been empty. "I can't, Pango... it hurts too much to think about such things... And Goddess forgive me, I only found out most of this through something I should have never touched in the first place..."

--

"There's a small dinner party tonight at Chipple's house, Klonoa, and he would like you to come..."

"I'm not hungry."

The old man paused and looked sadly at his grandson. "Klonoa, I worry about you. You're not eating well, and you hardly touch anything that anyone gives you nowadays."

"Grandpa..." Klonoa looked up, his tired amber eyes resting on the older man. "Grandpa, I know that. But it's not something I can tell anyone about."

"Even so..."

"Give me a few weeks, Grandpa. Just give me a few weeks."

The old man nodded silently, and with a sigh heaved himself out of the door. Klonoa settled down into his bed, closing his eyes in exhaustion and sorrow; he didn't want to make his grandfather sad or worried in any way. He didn't have anything to do with Klonoa's inner turmoil. The cabbit was only too painfully aware of the fact that he was hurting everyone around him - but then, Guntz had hurt him too. Maybe pain for pain was the only fair thing.

But he hadn't meant to make his grandfather worried.

* * *

I can't promise exactly when the next chapter will arrive... bleh... being Year Ten is no fun. I've had so many things standing in the way. But for the next two months I don't plan to go anywhere... so amen to that. Whew.

I will finish this. I am going to.

I'm halfway through the entire fic already.

Scary thought. O.o


	16. Part Two, Pango: Within the Temple

**Disclaimer:** What I said in the last chapter about seven months ago. x.x

**Author's Note:** God, I'm so sorry.

I was in the middle of a hard-hitting Brawl obsession and completed one monster fic during the time I was away. However, now that that's over and done with, I feel complied to finally work on Kaleidoscope again. And even update my other anthologies. I'm going to complete those even if the effort kills me. x.x

This chapter isn't even very long, but the few readers of this fic waited more than a half-year for this. I'm sorry for making you wait. I really am.

* * *

"...So you wish to seek sanctuary in the Temple?" The High Priestess asked, gazing at the bounty hunter kneeling in front of her throne. She grasped her staff tightly, considering her options. The hunter didn't seem to be a threat as of now, and was in fact being extremely quiet (to the point she thought it unnatural). Lolo stood meekly beside him, having encountered him on her way back to the Sky Temple, and was fiddling with the hem of her collar.

"Yes, High Priestess," Guntz replied, his voice unusually calm and sincere. There was no mockery in his tone; apart from his reply, he said nothing more and fell back into silence.

The High Priestess gazed at him again. "You do realize you are in the holiest of places in the world of Lunatea, the home of the Goddess Claire herself."

"I do indeed."

"You must also realize, Guntz the Bounty Hunter, that your actions may greatly affect your time here if sanctuary is granted to you. I understand that you're perhaps more in need of such a privilege than anybody else - however, I cannot guarantee you sanctuary that easily, regarding your reputation."

"I realize that also, High Priestess," Guntz answered, his voice calm and collected. He appeared to not particularly care about the fact that the exchange wasn't going anywhere. "I am not here to harm anyone. I only ask for a brief stay - less than two weeks, if you cannot trust me. After that, I will be on my way, far away from La-Lakoosha."

The High Priestess sighed. "If I could trust you that easily..." she trailed off, not knowing what else to say. On one hand, she didn't want someone with such a tarnished and bloody reputation in the holiest of all temples. What was he doing here, alone? He was rich enough; why wasn't he staying somewhere else? Then again, he had teamed up with Klonoa to save the world, and he seemed truly sincere. She couldn't sense any malevolence in his actions, nor his mind. His aura - all Lunateans had one, its was just that some could manipulate it and some could not - told her nothing but the fact that he was greatly tired, and in need of some food and sleep.

Guntz raised his head and looked her in the eyes. "If you are unwilling to grant sanctuary, I will respect your decision and take my leave."

"... I see," she finally said. "I need to consider my decision. Please wait outside for a moment. However," she warned as he got up to leave. "do not attempt anything harmful. Priests and guards will be waiting nearby, and they greatly outnumber you."

Guntz said nothing. He merely nodded, bowed and walked out (backwards, to show respect) of the room, closing the doors.

"What say you, Lolo?"

The priestess-in-training was shaken out of her thoughts, and looked up with wide eyes. "Y-yes, High Priestess?"

"You met Guntz the Bounty Hunter on your way back to the Temple, correct?" a nod. "did he attempt to harm you? Or threaten you to lead the way? Answer me honestly."

Lolo shook her head. "He did nothing of the sort. In fact, he knew the way to the Sky Temple very accurately. Had he wanted to threaten someone to learn the road, he could have chosen anyone else. I encountered him along the way, that was all."

"Your knees are grazed and your dress is muddy. Is that not a sign of a struggle, then?"

"Oh, no, High Priestess," Lolo exclaimed. "I... um... fell over during the way when a man barged into me. It was then I met him. He was kind to me about it all, and did not speak to me much at all during our journey. I don't think he intends any harm."

The older priestess listened in silence. As a priestess-in-training, she highly doubted that this girl was skilled enough to lie to her about anything. Her body language and tone of voice betrayed nothing that she was hiding, and she seemed genuinely inclined to tell her everything she knew. Although she couldn't trust Guntz, she could trust Lolo... couldn't she?

"Is that the honest truth?"

"Yes, High Priestess."

The older woman clutched her staff tightly. "Lolo, if I grant him sanctuary, you do know that I will be taking a great risk. However, I'm not willing to dismiss him either - he's exhausted, and I know I'm not making things easy for him here. You believe he's trustworthy enough, then?"

"I do, if I may say so. I am willing to keep on watching his actions if he is indeed permitted to stay. Your decision will be respected either way, High Priestess."

Lolo said nothing more, and kept silent. The High Priestess sighed - this really wasn't easy. She didn't want to turn Guntz away, but she wasn't keen on housing him here either. Everyone expected her to make the right choice, the very own priestesses in the Temple included; and as wise as she was, those moral dilemmas appeared out of nowhere now and then.

"Call Guntz in, Lolo."

Lolo opened the door gently and gestured to the hunter to come in; Guntz did so, and knelt down again. The High Priestess sat back on her throne and gazed serenly at him, having made up her mind.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting. And my answer is yes, Guntz the Bounty Hunter - I will grant you sanctuary in the Sky Temple. I have also decided to extend the time limit," she said with a small smile as he looked up, surprised. "you may stay here for a period up to six months, considering that you are in danger out there. Should you decide to leave before the time limit is up, you may come back at any time and spend the remaining time here before you seek my permission again. You will be allowed the same privileges as the priestesses - however, do not wander free of the Temple grounds."

For once, Guntz truly seemed to have nothing to say.

"What say you to that proposal?"

"I'm... quite frankly, High Priestess, that is too much privilege to be bestowed upon me. I'm stunned," the hunter answered, sounding genuinely surprised. "thank you very much. I will repay you for your kindness some day."

The older priestess laughed softly, her eyes softening. "There's no need for that, Guntz. During your stay, Lolo will look after you."

Lolo glanced up, startled. "Me? But I'm only..."

"Who else, Lolo?" the High Priestess said gently. "I doubt that the others can take care for a person as well as you can. You catered well for visitors and people who were previously sanctioned in the Temple. However, to ensure everyone's... especially your safety, Lolo..." she trailed off, looking at the hunter again. "there will be one condition, Guntz."

"Anything."

"Give up your weapons. They will be stored safely, but you will not gain access to them unless there are guards in the room, or in a time of emergency."

The hunter's expression at that moment was so unlike what Lolo had expected that she had to stifle a giggle. It wasn't an expression of anger or rage; he looked like exactly like a child who'd just been denied the right to play with his toys. It was a surprising mixture of innocent confusion and blankness. But even so, he complied (albeit very, _very_, reluctantly) and handed over all his guns, including his silver dagger and anything that might possibly be of danger. Both Lolo and the High Priestess had to raise an eyebrow at this - the hunter must be very, very serious indeed about his safety if he was willing to give those up without a fight.

"Lolo, lead him to the sanctuary room."

-----

Pango sat on a stool, a thick apron around his body, working with bottles of explosives all around him. Boris was outside, playing with his new bombs, he knew that - his boy had been around bombs and fireworks since he was two years old, and knew them well. Sooner or later, Pango would have to teach him to make more complex bombs; he had a hunch that Boris wanted to be a licensed bomb-maker, following in his footsteps. Perhaps he would even be offered to work in official missions if he learnt to make the most complicated, yet the most effective explosives. Since they had returned from the Moon, Pango had to admit that he really was spoiling Boris.

But he wasn't entirely happy with the situation he was in at all.

No word had come from Guntz. Despite his interrogation of Suiryu the day before, and his encounter with the hunter, he hadn't received anything from him so far and was wondering if he'd actually been hallucinating. If Guntz had been an illusion, surely he didn't need to worry? Surely the hunter would come to him later?

He sighed and stood up. Thoughts like those never helped with his work. Ironic, he thought grimly as he unwound his apron and reached for the kettle; thoughts of destruction, putting him off from his lifelong career of making bombs? He'd been forced to question his actions over the past years after Guntz's visit, thinking of all the people he'd injured or killed - some were indirect, some were intentional, but his bombs had done the work all the same.

While he was contemplating this, his communicator rung from the side table. It wasn't a call; it was an incoming message. Pango picked up his communicator, read the message and smiled bitterly.

_I am in sanctuary as of now, Pango. Do not contact me now. I will call you within three days. -G-_

So it wasn't an illusion at all. He tucked the communicator away and sighed heavily, drawing a hand over his eyes. And he'd thought that he'd _finally_ have some peace and quiet after the Moon fiasco...

-----

"Look over there..."

"That's not really _him_, is it?"

"What's _he_ doing here?"

"Oh, isn't he good-looking..."

"Do you think he'll sign my hat in lipstick?"

Guntz was sitting on a chair on a balcony - the one that led off from his sanctuary room. He was housed within a relatively large room, for the High Priestess had known that wolves needed a spacious area in order to be moderately content. Of course, the hunter was long past most of his instincts - he would have fared equally well in a room that was five times smaller than his current one, as long as there was enough food provided, but he certainly wasn't going to complain. Guntz never became bored easily; he had spent time in jail cells before, when he was young and inexperienced in the bounty hunter business, and he had learnt during those times to be permanently on guard. When he was listening and observing, boredom ceased to exist.

He was, however, annoyed with just two things: the loss of his guns and weapons, and the priestesses gathered beneath his balcony - who were all gazing up at him in fascination. Some were glaring, some were swooning, and some tried to get his attention. One reason why he never liked anyone of the female gender. He shut them out of his mind and stared into the horizon, trying to focus on his thoughts.

Well, so much for the loss of his guns. It wasn't as if he would be parted from them for ever. They were in storage now, and he would be allowed to get to them sooner or later. At least he was safe here, with good food and a warm bed provided. Such things were luxuries for hunters such as him, and he truly felt that he could relax for the first time in months.

Yet he was still worried. The priestess-in-training who was taking care of him - Lolo - she unnerved him in some way he could not describe. There were no gaping wounds on her forehead this time - but there were a few things about her that seemed off, somehow. He sensed that something bad was going to happen; perhaps to Lolo. Perhaps to one of the priestesses. Maybe even him - he never really felt anything for priestesses, or religious Lunateans for that matter, but something in his mind told him to get out and get out _fast_ before he was entangled with one of them.

Unnoticed by him, Lolo sat on a stone bench below the balcony, ignoring the priestesses and trying to focus on her work. They weren't bullying her for once; they were all too busy goggling at the hunter, and that was perfectly fine with her. It was strange - Guntz had been in the Sky Temple for less than twenty-four hours, and already he was the centre of attention from the girls. Lolo could see quite plainly that he was ignoring all of them perfectly - in his world, the priestesses (or _religion_ for that matter) didn't seem to exist at all. She'd gone to inquire upon his well-being that very morning, and found him kneeling on the floor of the room as if in prayer; however, when she looked closer, it was apparent that he wasn't doing anything of the kind. He didn't even seem to be thinking at _all_, and was staring into space, a hint of worry in his eyes. Lolo had to wonder what he was doing in the Temple of all places, and what he'd done out there - was he in trouble deep enough for him to seek urgent shelter?

"Well, hello there," a voice sneered from above her. Lolo looked up, feeling surprisingly unafraid of that voice (even somewhat bored), and gazed at the girl who stood in front of her. After her encounter with Guntz, not even her worst enemy seemed remotely interesting or worth dealing with.

"Good afternoon."

"So," the girl said, tossing back her hair. "Guntz the Bounty Hunter. I heard he came to the Temple last night."

Lolo raised an eyebrow in question, but didn't reply.

"Quite a looker, isn't he? You can see rather plainly that he's... ah... very attractive. Even my friends are swooning all over him," the girl gestured towards the balcony. "so may I inquire what you've got to do with him?"

The priestess-in-training closed her book and looked up again, no fear in her eyes. "Simona, I don't know what you're talking about. Please elaborate."

"Save the posh talk," Simona sneered, lowering her head to meet Lolo's gaze spitefully. "you're just a common girl who's not even a fully-fledged priestess yet. A little Moobird tells me, Lolo, that you're the one taking care of him. You, out of all the people available! I - and most of the priestesses - don't believe _you _actually are in charge of his well-being, you know," she continued venomously as Lolo lowered her head. "who'd trust _you_ and your clumsiness? It's not even like you're pretty or clever enough for him."

While this exchange was going on, Guntz's eyes had drifted from the horizon to rest upon a familiar figure. That figure was Lolo all right - pink uniform, nervous expression, quiet and pale complexion. He also knew that the girl was one of the clumsiest he knew. She must have been the least threatening thing ever to cross his path - however, she did give off a rather strange aura that made him uncomfortable. He sat up as a tall girl approached Lolo; the young priestess-in-training immediately tensed, her body poised in a fight-or-flight position. It was evident that she was in trouble. Weren't the others helping her?

Guntz swept his gaze over the gawping priestesses, and averted his eyes in disgust. No help there.

But what could he do? He was rather intrigued with the young girl; he needed her as much on his side as possible, just so that he could find out more about her and her strange aura. Lolo must know that she was in full view from his position - he was going to have to help if he wanted this girl close by. Yet Guntz also knew that he was forbidden to interact with priestesses; he could not walk freely amongst them or make contact with them in any way. He couldn't just jump down and take Lolo away.

Finally, he came to a decision.

Guntz stood up; this sudden motion made certain priestesses gasp and fall silent. Simona looked around, sensing the unusual silence. The priestess-in-training contemplated running away; with the hunter watching, Simona wouldn't dare to chase after her or shout insults.

"Lolo!" Guntz called out loudly, looking in her direction. Lolo froze as the priestesses' faces turned towards her, all wearing an expression of disbelief. Why was he singling _her_ out all of a sudden? What did he want? "come up here. I need your help!"

With those brisk words, he fell silent again, but kept on looking in her direction as she slowly packed her books and stood up, trying to ignore everyone else around her. Simona stood in front of her, looking as if she'd been slapped hard; the young girl had to suppress a smile as she ducked past them and made her way into the Temple.

Maybe having a homicidal hunter in the Sky Temple wasn't going to be that bad.

* * *

Do you remember who Simona is?

She's the girl who attempted to attack Lolo with a slate and was promptly dragged off by the High Priestess herself in Chapter 6 of 'Nightmare'. Also, had I not decided to use Anemon in the stroy 'Cookie Cutter Hands' - which can be found in my story, Kiss and Tell - she would also take her place, because she's a first-class biatch. Simona finally makes a comeback after two years from her initial, spontaneous creation. She got what was coming to her then, and she'll get what she deserves now. HA.

I love torturing my OCs. I create them, but I have no sympathy for them whatsoever. The only relative OC I have some sympathy for is Mileva (Guntz's supposed mother) - but she doesn't really count, because logic tells me Guntz must have had a mother somewhere along the lines, and if she exists she can't be original. Besides, she died anyway.

I'm such a cheerful person.


End file.
